Labour's 2010 defeat 'a near-death experience'
Written by the former MP for Waveney, Bob Blizzard, it draws on statistical research and interviews with former MPs from the region who lost their seats.
It paints a bleak picture of the state of the local party.
"We need to recognise that our organisation, our core vote, our local government base and our presence in the life of communities in the region are all in a worse shape than in the worst days of the 80s," Mr Blizzard concludes.
Labour, he claims, "seems to have shallow roots in the East which are easily pulled up when the Tories come into contention".
The report, "How the East was lost... and how to win again", highlights Gordon Brown's leadership and the lack of a clear message on immigration as the two main things that put voters off Labour.
It also reports a lot of anger over the perceived unfairness of the benefits system but also claims that the MPs' expenses scandal and the economy were not big factors in driving voters away from the party.
The report also claims the national party ignored the East when it came to ministerial visits, capital expenditure and appointing members of the cabinet.
'Constant struggle'
It goes on to criticise the party for picking poor candidates in unwinnable seats and giving the impression it didn't care about Labour voters in those constituencies.
"We were fighting the perception that Labour was not for the East," an unnamed candidate tells Mr Blizzard.
"It was a constant struggle to get the Labour government to pay attention to the region," says another.
Mr Blizzard believes the party can win again in this region and claims it is already picking up support as the Coalition cuts start to bite.
What Labour now needs, he says, is a clear and distinct message, better communications and more support in terms of resources from Labour HQ.
Mr Blizzard's report is only just being shown to senior Labour figures but it's interesting that Ed Miliband has decided to ask his shadow cabinet to "adopt a region".
It's now emerged that Ed Balls won't simply front this year's local election campaign, as reported in the previous blog, but will be the main face of Labour in the East in every campaign up to and including the next general election.
"We don't have many well known or recognisable figures in the region," says a source, "putting in a big hitter like Ed shows that we're trying to take the East more seriously".
Mr Blizzard accepts that Labour faces a big uphill struggle.
He recommends candidates in target seats should be selected as soon as possible, that there should be better selection of candidates even in unwinnable seats and he calls for the culture of party meetings to change to make outsiders more welcome.
His hope is that the local elections in May will be a good springboard for a Labour fightback.
But if Labour wants to consider the extent of the task ahead of them they should consider some of the stark statistics in Mr Blizzard's report.
The number of people who voted Labour in the East last year was more than the total number of voters in either the North East of England or Wales.
Yet the North East returned 25 Labour MPs, Wales returned 26 while the East has just... two.
Welcome to the political blog for the East. I'm Deborah McGurran, the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Political Editor for the region. From Lowestoft to Luton, this is the place for politics with an eastern twist.
Comments Post your comment