Livingstone deserved to lose to Boris, suggests Douglas Alexander

Strong words from the shadow foreign secretary in the Evening Standard:

“Ken’s campaign too often looked like the past rather than the future. And when I saw his remarks about the Jewish community in London in particular, I didn’t just think it was ill advised, I just thought it was wrong. It’s not our politics to try and divide voters into blocks. The success of the Olympics reminds us that London’s greatness and Britain’s greatness is when we come together. And I think he paid a deserved price for some of the errors that he made.”

Could be a bit uncomfortable if the shadow cabinet meet up with the NEC at conference…

Update: Those who worked on Livingstone’s campaign aren’t taking Alexander’s criticisms lying down. One former party staffer who worked on the campaign just told LabourList:

“Douglas’s attempt to rewrite history and say Ken “deserved” to lose is an insult to the Labour Party staff who fought so hard for a Labour win. It’s an insult to the millions of Londoners whose daily lives are made worse by the Tory Mayor. I hope he hangs his head in shame for his shameless opportunism.”

A day before the party heads up to Manchester for conference, a wound has been re-opened…