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| Ed Miliband to join review of Labour's election failure | Ed Miliband to join review of Labour's election failure |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband will sit on a panel of party figures to review its general election failure. | Ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband will sit on a panel of party figures to review its general election failure. |
| Labour Together, which describes itself as a network of activists from all traditions, is setting up a commission to "map out a route back to power". | Labour Together, which describes itself as a network of activists from all traditions, is setting up a commission to "map out a route back to power". |
| It says the panel will view attempts to pin the blame on a single cause, such as Brexit or Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, as simplistic and wrong. | It says the panel will view attempts to pin the blame on a single cause, such as Brexit or Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, as simplistic and wrong. |
| Members, focus groups in heartlands, and defeated candidates will get a say. | Members, focus groups in heartlands, and defeated candidates will get a say. |
| Former shadow education secretary Lucy Powell will spearhead the review, alongside Mr Miliband and Birmingham Ladywood MP Shabana Mahmood. | Former shadow education secretary Lucy Powell will spearhead the review, alongside Mr Miliband and Birmingham Ladywood MP Shabana Mahmood. |
| Ms Powell said the inquiry would take a "real and meaningful look" at why the party had "fallen short" at four consecutive elections. | Ms Powell said the inquiry would take a "real and meaningful look" at why the party had "fallen short" at four consecutive elections. |
| "We all have to accept that our offers to the country have been insufficient," she said. | "We all have to accept that our offers to the country have been insufficient," she said. |
| Speaking to Radio 4's Today programme, Ms Powell said there was "a real appetite" for Labour members of all traditions to come together and analyse what has changed. | |
| "I think retreating into a factional-based analysis would be the worst thing we could do at this juncture," she said. | |
| Ms Powell added: "The Labour coalition has fundamentally changed over the last 20 years. | |
| "Unless we properly reflect on that, then whoever is leader next won't be able to deal with it." | |
| The commission will be made up of voices from "different Labour traditions" and hopes to capitalise on the "millions of conversations" voters had with Labour campaigners, a spokesman said. | The commission will be made up of voices from "different Labour traditions" and hopes to capitalise on the "millions of conversations" voters had with Labour campaigners, a spokesman said. |
| Other confirmed commissioners include Jo Platt, who lost her seat in the former stronghold of Leigh, Greater Manchester, Labourlist website editor Sienna Rodgers and James Meadway, former economic adviser to shadow chancellor John McDonnell. | Other confirmed commissioners include Jo Platt, who lost her seat in the former stronghold of Leigh, Greater Manchester, Labourlist website editor Sienna Rodgers and James Meadway, former economic adviser to shadow chancellor John McDonnell. |
| The panel is also expected to recruit a trade union representative and a local organiser. | The panel is also expected to recruit a trade union representative and a local organiser. |
| 'No easy task' | |
| Commenting on the inquiry, BBC political correspondent Jessica Parker said: "Labour Together claims it will seek to rise above the factionalism it says has coloured much of the party's politics in recent years." | |
| "But - with a potentially bruising leadership battle looming - reaching a consensus on Labour's past, as well as its future, could prove no easy task." | "But - with a potentially bruising leadership battle looming - reaching a consensus on Labour's past, as well as its future, could prove no easy task." |
| Commissioners intend to: | Commissioners intend to: |
| The party last won an election in 2005 under the leadership of former Prime Minister Tony Blair. | The party last won an election in 2005 under the leadership of former Prime Minister Tony Blair. |
| Mr Blair said last week that the "takeover of the Labour Party by the far left" had "turned it into a glorified protest movement, with cult trimmings, utterly incapable of being a credible government". | Mr Blair said last week that the "takeover of the Labour Party by the far left" had "turned it into a glorified protest movement, with cult trimmings, utterly incapable of being a credible government". |
| Mr Corbyn and Mr McDonnell both said they took responsibility for the defeat in the wake of an election that handed the Conservatives an 80-seat majority. | Mr Corbyn and Mr McDonnell both said they took responsibility for the defeat in the wake of an election that handed the Conservatives an 80-seat majority. |
| However, they have defended their policies and pointed to Brexit polarising the country. | However, they have defended their policies and pointed to Brexit polarising the country. |
| The defeat prompted a bitter internal row about the party's Brexit stance. | The defeat prompted a bitter internal row about the party's Brexit stance. |
| Ms Rodgers, of Labourlist, said the review would pore over the results in "an even-handed way, which doesn't start with blaming one faction, or individual". | Ms Rodgers, of Labourlist, said the review would pore over the results in "an even-handed way, which doesn't start with blaming one faction, or individual". |