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Labour too weak to win election alone, Fabian Society says Labour too weak to win election alone, Fabian Society says
(about 9 hours later)
Labour is "too weak" to win a general election alone and should consider working with other parties, a left-of-centre think tank has said. Labour is "too weak" to win a general election alone and should consider working with rival parties, a left-of-centre think tank has said in a report.
The Fabian Society said securing an overall majority was "currently unthinkable" for Labour. Andrew Harrop, the Fabian Society's general secretary, said there had been a "complete meltdown" of support in Scotland.
It said the party faced a "Brexit dilemma" because it needed to reach out to voters on both sides of the debate. His study also cited party leader Jeremy Corbyn's unpopularity and a "muffled" approach to Brexit.
But Labour said leader Jeremy Corbyn offered the "only genuine alternative" to a failed political establishment. Mr Corbyn's spokesman said he was an alternative to "failed" UK politics.
'Fake anti-elitists' Mr Harrop said Mr Corbyn's unpopularity was "just one factor in the Labour Party's troubles".
A spokesperson for Mr Corbyn said: "Rebuilding Labour support after its fragmentation at the 2015 election was always going to be a challenge. The Fabian Society, which has close links to Labour, warned the party was on course to win fewer than 200 seats for the first time since 1935. It currently has 231.
"But Labour under Jeremy Corbyn will be taking its case to every part of Britain in the coming months with a radical policy platform, offering the only genuine alternative to a failed parliament political establishment and the fake anti-elitists of the hard right." 'Terrifying thought'
Mr Corbyn has previously said his party could climb the "electoral mountain" to general election success and he recently attributed its showing in opinion polls to the "distraction" of the summer's leadership contest. Based on current opinion polls, the total could be as low as 140 MPs because Labour traditionally does worse than its mid-term polling suggests, the report added.
However, the report for the Fabian Society, which has close links to Labour, an ruled out an overall victory for Mr Corbyn's party. Mr Harrop told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme it was a "pretty terrifying thought" for most Labour supporters.
Its study, by general secretary Andrew Harrop, was based on recent election results and polling. "The 2015 election led to a huge meltdown in Scottish support and the rise of the SNP and that's stopping Labour making progress," he said.
It claimed Labour would probably have to eclipse its 2001 general election winning margin in order to secure a majority, so "will have to get used to the idea that it will need to work alongside others". The Fabians said Labour could gain 30 extra seats by aligning with centre-left parties in the next election.
Securing an extra 30 seats alongside centre-left parties would be a "far more plausible goal" it said.
"Labour needs to prepare itself to work in partnership, in an age of quasi-federal, multi-party politics," it added."Labour needs to prepare itself to work in partnership, in an age of quasi-federal, multi-party politics," it added.
It said Labour's 2015 "wipe-out" in Scotland - where it now has just one MP - meant it would win fewer than 200 seats based on current opinion polls. In this scenario, Labour would remain by far the largest opposition party, the report said, adding: "The party does not face oblivion and will be able to rebuild."
And the total could be as low as 140 MPs because it traditionally does worse than its mid-term polling suggests, it added. 'Fake anti-elitists'
But even in this scenario, Labour would remain by far the largest opposition party, the report said, adding: "The party does not face oblivion and will be able to rebuild." The report accused the parliamentary Labour party of being "barely audible" compared with the "sound and fury" of the first year of Mr Corbyn's leadership.
'Remain and Leave' "The Corbynite left has won the big internal battles but it seems to have no roadmap for winning back lost voters," it said.
The report said there was "no easy solution" on Brexit for the party. Mr Corbyn's spokesman admitted it would be a "challenge" to rebuild Labour support after the 2015 election, when it lost 25 seats in Parliament, with heavy losses in Scotland that left it with just one MP north of the border.
"Simultaneously it needs to retain people who backed Remain, and regain those who voted Leave," it said. Mr Corbyn's spokesman said: "Labour under Jeremy Corbyn will be taking its case to every part of Britain in the coming months with a radical policy platform."
"The Conservatives and Lib Dems are both advancing by attracting new support from one side only." Mr Corbyn was the "only genuine alternative to a failed parliament political establishment and the fake anti-elitists of the hard right", he added.
In marginal seats, the report warned Labour supporters could "scatter in all directions", and it urged the party to represent the "cultural middle", saying Britain was "not a polarised nation of cosmopolitans and reactionaries". Remain and Leave
It played down the threat Labour faces from UKIP. The Fabians said Labour faced a "Brexit dilemma" because it had failed to gain the support of Leave voters.
Based on the way votes are expected to be distributed across the country, it predicted that both UKIP and the Lib Dems would be left with just a handful of MPs even if they matched Labour's votes total. "Labour won't win if it doesn't reach out to the many people who voted to leave the European Union," Mr Harrop said.
On Sunday, one of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's allies, Unite boss Len McCluskey, described the party's polling as "awful" and suggested Mr Corbyn could step down if it doesn't improve before the next general election. The report said the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats could afford to attract "one side only" but that Labour needed support from both camps.
He later added on Twitter that Mr Corbyn had his "full support" describing him as a "genuine, decent man fighting for a fairer Britain". "On Brexit, the greatest political question for two generations, the party's position is muffled and inconsistent," it said.
In marginal seats, it warned that Labour supporters could "scatter in all directions".
'Full support'
It urged the party to represent the "cultural middle", saying Britain was "not a polarised nation of cosmopolitans and reactionaries".
But it said the threat Labour faces from UKIP was "exaggerated".
Even if it managed to match Labour's share of the popular vote, it would be left with just a handful of MPs, it said.
On Sunday, one of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's allies, Unite boss Len McCluskey, suggested Mr Corbyn step down if the party's poll ratings fail to improve.
But he later tweeted his "full support" for Mr Corbyn, describing him as a "genuine, decent man fighting for a fairer Britain".