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This weekend I joined the Labour campaign trail in Exeter, where Labour incumbent Ben Bradshaw is defending a majority of 7,183. Historically, this has been a Conservative seat – when Labour won the seat in 1997 it was the first time it had…
Before last week’s terrible events, when MPs had returned to Westminster after a Whitsun recess in their constituencies, there was a feeling that things weren’t going well for the Remain campaign. We’ve all known for some time there’s a…
Cider-making is synonymous with the county of Somerset; it is weaved into the social fabric, the landscape and the rural communities. Yet, in this fast-moving, modern, global market place, iconic industries, such as cider-making, have no…
We know that we’ve got our work cut out to win a Labour majority government in 2020. Without a major recovery in Scotland we’ll need to win around 100 additional seats in England and Wales in less than 5 years’ time on an average swing of…
The Southern Taskforce has outlined a distinctive Labour story for the south, rooted in the real issues of our southern regions. But we also have to sound like we are rooted here. That means using southern voices in the media – and London…
When Ed Miliband set out his vision of One Nation Labour he couldn’t have been more clear: A Labour Party of the South as well as of the North. Our job on the Southern Taskforce was to flesh exactly what that ‘Labour of the South’ would…
There is a myth in Labour circles that has become engrained. It's called the "Southern voter”. This caricature is selfish, anti public sector and has a chip on their shoulder. They drive flashy cars and slam doors in your face. They are…
In 1997 Labour made major breakthroughs in the three southern regions, holding many of those seats until the 2010 election. Today, we have the same number of MPs as in 1992 (with more seats to contest). Despite good local election results…
My tour of the south continues in Cambridge for the regional launch of Labour’s Action Plan for Family Budgets. I do an interview for Look East in Cambridge Market in which I am able to talk about some of the action Labour would take to…
Today’s disclosure of Cabinet papers under the 30 year rule reveal that Tory ministers tried to persuade Msrgaret Thatcher to write off Liverpool after the 1981 riots and abandon it a process of ‘managed decline’. In the interests of…
By Luke Akehurst / @lukeakehurst John Denham is an interesting, possibly unique politician in a couple of respects - seen as a Blairite moderniser until 2003, he was one of only three ministers to resign in protest at the Iraq War; he was…
By Luke Pollard The recent polling by Marketing Means in the South West makes for very interesting reading. It is the clearest indication yet that the Liberal Democrat vote is collapsing across the region and the party is heading for…
