Labour's lost votes

The latest issue of Prospect Magazine carries an interesting analysis by Peter Kellner of why Millions of people turned away from Labour during its 13 years in power, and how to win them back

A builder reads the Sun on 30th September 2009, 

when it dropped its support for the Labour party 

after 12 years

He reaches this conclusion:

Ed Miliband is therefore right to rebrand his party as “one nation Labour.” However, rebranding cannot produce lasting results through a label alone, however often it is repeated. “New Labour” produced electoral dividends not because of the name but because it reflected a real change in the party’s direction. What matters now is how Miliband follows through. Every Labour policy between now and 2015 must pass the “one nation” test. Any whiff of the politics of social contest—pitching “our” people against “their” people—would do immense harm.

That is not all. Given the role the unions played in his election as party leader, Miliband still has much to do. He must convince voters that he would be his own man, and also tough and competent enough to keep his promises, if he did become prime minister.

Meanwhile, YouGov’s data suggests that those who would abandon this strategy, “return to Labour’s roots” and pull the party to the left are not simply on the wrong side. They are fighting the wrong battle.

Full article here