Whilst there is no doubting the "paramount significance of Brexit in the election", there are some essential lessons which must be learned if Labour is to defeat the Tories in the near future. Not only did Labour panic half way through the campaign, they lacked a coherent strategy, and even took their own candidates by surprise with some late announcements.
No matter how bad things might look during a campaign, it is imperative not to add to an already congested manifesto. Have a game plan and stick with it is the obvious sporting metaphor which can be applied here. The late promise of an extra £58bn for the loss of pension for women born in the 1950s should either have been detailed in the manifesto and grey book, or left until later, as was originally planned. Similarly, "free broadband for all" needed more thought; why give £30 a month to the well off, when children are going hungry, and homeless numbers escalate?
As for the ridiculous announcement about every family being £6000 better off annually....!! Please don`t tell me this was decided after a leadership team discussion. It didn`t need a right wing media looking for every opportunity to criticise Labour, to see that this was a huge mistake.
On the subject of the media, something also of "paramount significance" in the election, surely the constant bias in the press and BBC was to be expected? The answer to the problem has to be for Labour to publicise everything positive themselves, and for a disciplined approach, with everyone making the same point at the same time. Was it too much to expect, for instance, when Friends of the Earth awarded points out of 45 for the main parties` green manifestos, for Labour politicians to boast about their 33 points, compared with the Tories measly 5.5? Even the Today interviewers would have been hard pressed to embarrass Labour over that one! With every passing year, green policies will figure more highly. For the next election, they have to be emphasised even more!
Labour`s strategy has to be thought out carefully in advance. They must have known that taxation policies were going to be crucial, and that the Tories would claim that most people would be taxed more under a Labour government. It`s what they`ve been saying for years. That means more explanation was required, as it`s clear most voters don`t understand how income tax works. The same applies to all the spending needed to repair the damage nine years of austerity have inflicted. Very late on in the campaign, I heard John McDonnell say something about the £375bn found for the banks after the crash in 2008-9, but nothing about how the Tories had borrowed far more than the last Labour government, or how spending plans compared with other European economies. At least, attempt a brief explanation of multipliers, and how most government spending returns to the Treasury in the form of taxation. Accurate figures and charts should be prepared beforehand, and every candidate told to use them, and be on the ball on simple economics.
Taxation has to be a key issue, if Labour is to win next time, not only in terms of fairer policies, but with regard to transparency as well. It`s hard to believe that some leading Tories have not been involved in tax avoidance schemes, or have worked in companies devising such schemes, or have cash squirreled away off-shore. If Labour politicians have, they should not be standing. All Labour candidates, including the leader and shadow cabinet should make public all recent tax returns prior to the election, and make a big show of them!
The latter could be kept secret, and come as a surprise to all the other parties. It was noticeable how Labour had some great opportunities to embarrass the Tories, but failed to keep their powder dry. Take, for instance, the leaked papers about America`s involvement with the NHS, which Corbyn announced just before the main televised debate with Johnson. Why on earth wasn`t this kept as a surprise, and sprung on Johnson during the debate? Imagine his response to something unexpected!
One last thing: Labour must not play too fairly. Wait for the Tories to have difficult interviews before committing to them. Don`t expect the Tories to do the decent thing, as they will always want to avoid scrutiny. Only allow politicians who will insist on having their say, and not allow interruptions, to go live on air, on such things as the Today programme. On the other hand Labour`s top team should all appear on the less challenging programmes, to show the "human face" of their socialism, and to talk about hobbies and family life.
These are all lessons for Labour to learn. Obvious aren`t they? So why weren`t they learnt before the election?
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