Bombshell report warns Sir Keir Starmer the Red Wall ‘may be lost for good’ to the Tories unless Labour changes the perception held by many northern voters that it is a ‘London-centric party’
- New report by group of Labour MPs warned Red Wall seats ‘may be lost for good’
- Report said Labour must address perception that it is a ‘London-centric party’
- MPs warned without action by Sir Keir Starmer party faces ‘continuous decline’
Labour MPs have warned Sir Keir Starmer that Red Wall seats won by the Tories at the 2019 general election ‘may be lost for good’ unless the party addresses the concerns of northern voters.
A bombshell report by the Labour for the North group said Sir Keir must address the perception held by many voters that it is a ‘London-centric party’.
It said that one year after the drubbing at the ballot box the party is still struggling to win back people who always used to vote Labour.
It warned that without immediate action to improve the situation Labour faces the prospect of ‘continuous decline’ in areas which used to be the party’s strongholds.
A group of Labour MPs warned Sir Keir Starmer in a new report that the party risks losing its Red Wall seats for good unless radical action is taken to win back voters
Victory in the Red Wall propelled Boris Johnson to his crushing 80-seat majority at the 2019 general election last December
Labour suffered its worst general election result since 1935 last December under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn as it lost 60 seats and sunk to just 202 MPs.
Boris Johnson secured a crushing 80-seat majority as he managed to secure victory in Red Wall seats which had previously been seen as off-limits for the Tories.
Sir Keir will need to win back the seats at the next general election if he is to have any chance of securing the keys to 10 Downing Street.
But the report published by the Labour for the North group suggests Sir Keir faces an uphill battle.
The reports conclusions, seen by The Guardian, warned that at least some of the seats may never switch back to Labour unless radical action is taken.
It said that even under the new leadership of Sir Keir the party is still struggling to make inroads in key areas.
The report said: ‘If not addressed, these figures signal a continuous decline. The constituencies and communities, which for so long we took for granted, have fundamentally changed.’
It added: ‘Unless we recognise how and why, there is a potential that they may be lost for good. Without understanding what isn’t working for us on a local level, we cannot hope to win back power nationally.’
The report recommended that Labour should publish a ‘northern manifesto’ at every general election and appoint a shadow minister for the north of England.
It said the ‘greatest risk’ facing the party would be to fail to listen to the concerns of its former voters and to ‘allow another party to build lasting links’ with them.