Blog: Let Copeland be our final warning

No-one objective could argue that last night’s by-election results were good for Labour. Whilst it was undoubtedly pleasing to see serial fibber Paul Nuttall and his Trumpian politics put in their place in Stoke, this was never a seat where the result should have been in doubt. But to lose Copeland – held by Labour for 83 years – to a party that has inflicted seven years of painful spending cuts on our country, and is damaging the NHS, is disastrous. Last autumn I said that Labour had never been farther from government in my lifetime. Five months on the party hasn’t moved an inch closer to Downing Street. These results do not imply a party headed for victory. Copeland is indicative of a party sliding towards irrelevance. Worse still, Labour faces an irrelevance felt most keenly by those it was founded to represent. There will be those who seek to place sole blame for this calamity at the door of Jeremy Corbyn. They would be wrong to do so. The problems that Labour has in working class communities across the country did not start with Jeremy’s leadership. They have existed for decades, with successive governments failing to support them or even hear their calls for change. Now these communities are increasingly finding outlets for their understandable discontent. During the 2015 election I knocked on doors on a large council estate in Edmonton – similar to the one I grew up on. Most people were surprised to see us. The last time they’d seen Labour canvassers was ...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: General secretary's blog News Labour Party Source Type: news