Labour Together 2019 election review welcomed by party across factions

Labour Together published its 2019 general election review last Friday. It concluded that the party needs a “major overhaul” of its “political strategy, organisation and campaigning infrastructure” to win again.

Since its release, figures and organisations from across the labour movement – spanning the political spectrum within the party, from Progress and Labour First to Momentum and Owen Jones – have welcomed the 140-page report.

Labour First tweeted: “We welcome the publication of such a frank and comprehensive report into Labour’s general election campaign, and recommend that everyone reads it. At its heart is rigorous analysis of data and evidence and concrete recommendations for action.

“It provides the incoming general secretary David Evans with a properly researched blueprint for overhauling the party and turning it back into an effective general election winning machine.”

Former frontbencher and current Socialist Campaign Group secretary Richard Burgon MP said: “What I do think is good is that the report doesn’t see 2019 in isolation, but looks at the long-term problems the Labour Party has faced.

“People will draw what they want from this report, but I think it would be a mistake to draw from it that we should never have a manifesto of what could be characterised as left, socialist, redistributive policies of public ownership. I think that in the era we’re going into, those kinds of policies will be more relevant than ever.”

Left-wing activist Owen Jones took to social media and wrote: “The report into Labour’s catastrophic defeat is a must-read. It’s deeply uncomfortable reading, from long-term trends hitting Labour, to the party’s terrible strategic failures.

“But it emphasises the party mustn’t abandon a transformative economic agenda. The report poses questions that, frankly, all of Labour’s wings are going to struggle to answer, so ignore selective quoting for factional advantage.

“Labour’s plight isn’t unique – most European left-of-centre parties are in crisis. But this report helps point to a way back.”

Progress co-founder Paul Richards tweeted: “The Labour Together report is devastating. In 2019 Labour lost 1.9m remain voters, 1.8m leave voters and 950,000 who didn’t vote in the referendum. The manifesto was a major factor in defeat. Plus the lack of a realistic seat targeting strategy or coherent message.”

Centre for Labour and Social Studies director and 2019 Labour parliamentary candidate Faiza Shaheen said: “I agree with a lot of what I’ve seen from the Labour Together report and thank the team. For me, one of the hardest things was dealing with the factionalism on top of local Tories & racism. It was actually really awful.”

Corbynite activist network Momentum tweeted: “An important read for the movement. We need to: deal with the wrecking revealed in the leaked report; empower members through community organising; offer a bold programme of economic transformation. Now, time to get to work!”

Progress director Nathan Yeowell concluded on social media that the report was a “forensic and systematic piece of research and exposition on what Labour has to do if we are ever to win national office again”.

Writing for Tribune, Jon Trickett and Ian Lavery said: “The report rightly points out the disconnect between the party and its diverse coalition of working and middle-class people from cities, towns and villages. We must urgently address this issue.

“The report’s praise of community organising is to be welcomed – alongside our ambitious and transformational policy platform, the community organising unit is a legacy of the past five years that we must stick to.”

Labour Together will be holding an online event – including a panel and participatory workshop with commissioners – to facilitate a discussion about the key findings and recommendations of the review. Those interested can register for the meeting before it is held at 7pm tonight.