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| Lynton Crosby says 'arrogant' Labour is not learning from defeat | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Labour’s official report on the reasons behind its general election defeat shows that the party is failing to come to terms with why voters rejected it, Sir Lynton Crosby has said. | Labour’s official report on the reasons behind its general election defeat shows that the party is failing to come to terms with why voters rejected it, Sir Lynton Crosby has said. |
| The Australian political consultant, who ran the Conservative party’s election campaign, said that the argument set out in the report compiled by Dame Margaret Beckett was “arrogant” because it assumed that voters were wrong. | The Australian political consultant, who ran the Conservative party’s election campaign, said that the argument set out in the report compiled by Dame Margaret Beckett was “arrogant” because it assumed that voters were wrong. |
| In a speech to the Centre for Opposition Studies, Crosby said the Labour document showed the party was still making the mistakes that contributed to it losing elections in 2010 and 2015. | In a speech to the Centre for Opposition Studies, Crosby said the Labour document showed the party was still making the mistakes that contributed to it losing elections in 2010 and 2015. |
| Related: Labour warned to expect losses in May local elections | |
| On Tuesday, Labour published a 35-page report on why it lost the election, drawn up by a taskforce chaired by the former deputy leader Beckett. It identified four reasons given by voters for the party’s defeat, including “failure to shake off the myth that we were responsible for the financial crash and therefore failure to build trust in the economy”. | |
| In his lecture, Crosby, who is credited with playing a decisive role in the Tories’ surprise election victory, quoted that reason. “Now, I think that’s quite an arrogant thing to say,” he said. “It’s arrogant because it deliberately ignores what voters have effectively said at two consecutive general elections. | In his lecture, Crosby, who is credited with playing a decisive role in the Tories’ surprise election victory, quoted that reason. “Now, I think that’s quite an arrogant thing to say,” he said. “It’s arrogant because it deliberately ignores what voters have effectively said at two consecutive general elections. |
| “They weren’t saying that Labour overspending caused the failure of the global financial system. What they were saying is that Labour overspending meant Britain wasn’t well equipped when the financial crisis hit.” | “They weren’t saying that Labour overspending caused the failure of the global financial system. What they were saying is that Labour overspending meant Britain wasn’t well equipped when the financial crisis hit.” |
| Crosby, who does not often speak in public, acknowledged that there were counter-arguments Labour could make to defend its spending record before 2010. But he said there was no point in Labour continuing to try to win those arguments when it was clear that voters had made up their minds. | Crosby, who does not often speak in public, acknowledged that there were counter-arguments Labour could make to defend its spending record before 2010. But he said there was no point in Labour continuing to try to win those arguments when it was clear that voters had made up their minds. |
| “The point is, the voters have spoken and they have made their judgment – not once but twice – and in a democracy their view is the most important,” Crosby said in the speech on Wednesday night. | |
| “And, from my experience, no amount of counter-argument will make them change their mind. You don’t build success for the future by telling people they were wrong in the past.” | |
| Related: Labour faces huge challenges to win 2020 election, says Margaret Beckett | |
| Crosby said that one of Labour’s problems in the run-up to the 2015 election was that the party believed the mistaken claims that it was impossible for the Conservatives to win an outright majority. Labour thought it just had to “stay upright” to win, he claimed. As a result, the party “never did the work on developing a credible policy agenda” and, in Ed Miliband, stuck with a leader “who most voters could never see as a prime minister”. | |
| “Most importantly, they never really faced up to why they lost in 2010, or admitted that they got things wrong,” Crosby added. | |
| “They failed to appreciate that when voters turn away from you, they are sending you a message. And unless and until you take that message on board, when you go into opposition, you will not be in a position to win.” |