The next leader must be able to make the case for voting Labour to anyone

If there is one thing that Labour must take from the recent general election, and the last five years as a whole, it is that the Conservatives are correct when they say that success is dependent on ‘the fundamentals’ – strong leadership and economic credibility. The next Labour leader must possess both of these traits in abundance if they are to be successful in 2020.

The electorate simply didn’t trust Miliband as Prime Minister. “He’d get eaten alive by Putin,” was a phrase heard on numerous occasions. Whether he would have or not is irrelevant, this is the perception voters had. Likewise on the economy. Even if they disagree, the next Labour leader needs to acknowledge that the party overspent if they want to be trusted with the public finances again.

The glimmers of hope in areas such as London came about in spite of Miliband, not because of him. He proved to be an anchor on the party, not the propeller of success and ambition that was required. The task in 2020 is set to become even tougher given the expected Tory boundary changes; Labour cannot afford to make the same mistake again.

The disastrous ‘35% strategy’ resulted in racking up huge majorities (completely redundant under first past the post) in safe areas, whilst failing to make any inroads in the decisive constituencies – even losing key seats such as Southampton Itchen and Telford to the Tories. Miliband’s successor must focus on broadening the party’s appeal as opposed to preaching to the converted with negative messages centred on the ills of prosperity.

The aim must simply be to make it easier for people to vote for the party. There is a large chunk of the electorate, who for reasons of conscience or social responsibility, are more comfortable voting Labour than Conservative but felt they simply couldn’t this time around. These ‘shy Tories’ we have heard so much about will be crucial to Labour’s return to power.

The crisis is wide-reaching, and the solution must be a radical. It must also be proactive rather than reactive to avoid the slow – or perhaps not so slow – extinction of Labour as the party becomes obsolete at the collective hands of UKIP, the Greens and the SNP. The message must be positive and inclusive, attracting support through optimism rather than polarisation. The next leader must be able to make the case for voting Labour to anyone, however rich or poor.

To have any chance of regaining the keys to Number 10, the party must move to a more centrist economic platform and win back English voters – both ‘New Labour’ voters from the Tories, and ‘Blue Labour’ voters from UKIP. Even notwithstanding the 40 seats lost to the SNP, Labour would still have been 59 short of the Conservatives. No Westminster majority can be won without widespread support in England, and it will be places such as Swindon, Worcester and Crawley – seats the party won in 1997 – that will be vital to future success.

This must not be a carbon copy Blairite renaissance though. New Labour’s abandonment of localism for internationalism is at the heart of the current disaffection with the party in the traditional strongholds of the Midlands and the North. Labour will rescue these areas from the rising purple tide by embracing a growing sense of English identity and shedding the metropolitan image that UKIP has been keen to emphasise. In doing so Labour may help to nullifying Farage’s ‘2020 Strategy’.

As was said recently, “picking a leader is like buying a birthday present – you give them what they want, not what you want.” The Labour party needs to recognise that Britain (or rather, England) is fundamentally a small ‘c’ conservative nation. During the recent campaign Tony Blair described an election, “in which a traditional Left-wing party fights a traditional Right-wing party – with the traditional result.” He was right. Labour members do not have to like this reality, but they need to accept it in order for the party to govern again. Pragmatism not idealism is what’s required.