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| Harriet Harman casts doubt over Ed Miliband's economic credibility | Harriet Harman casts doubt over Ed Miliband's economic credibility |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Many Labour supporters feel relieved the party is not in power under Ed Miliband, the acting leader, Harriet Harman, has said. | Many Labour supporters feel relieved the party is not in power under Ed Miliband, the acting leader, Harriet Harman, has said. |
| In a frank assessment, Harman said Miliband’s personal performance and lack of trust towards the party on the economy “combined together” to contribute to the election defeat. | In a frank assessment, Harman said Miliband’s personal performance and lack of trust towards the party on the economy “combined together” to contribute to the election defeat. |
| Her analysis counters the argument made by some of Miliband’s allies that his election bid failed because “lazy Labour” supporters did not turn out to vote. | Her analysis counters the argument made by some of Miliband’s allies that his election bid failed because “lazy Labour” supporters did not turn out to vote. |
| Speaking to the Independent, Harman said: “Sometimes after an election, you get a sense that people think: ‘Oh my God, that is terrible, what a disaster’. A lot of people felt that, because we got nearly 40,000 new party members who were very disappointed. | Speaking to the Independent, Harman said: “Sometimes after an election, you get a sense that people think: ‘Oh my God, that is terrible, what a disaster’. A lot of people felt that, because we got nearly 40,000 new party members who were very disappointed. |
| “But there is an even greater number of people, even though they were not enthusiastic about David Cameron or the Tories, who feel relieved that we are not in government. We have got to address it. It was not a blip.” | “But there is an even greater number of people, even though they were not enthusiastic about David Cameron or the Tories, who feel relieved that we are not in government. We have got to address it. It was not a blip.” |
| The acting leader made the comments after bringing in Deborah Mattinson, Gordon Brown’s former pollster, to assess what went wrong in the runup to the general election, looking at the performance of the leader and economic credibility. | The acting leader made the comments after bringing in Deborah Mattinson, Gordon Brown’s former pollster, to assess what went wrong in the runup to the general election, looking at the performance of the leader and economic credibility. |
| “The two combined together,” Harman said. “People tend to like a leader they feel is economically competent.” | “The two combined together,” Harman said. “People tend to like a leader they feel is economically competent.” |
| Early focus groups conducted by Mattinson’s team found relief among some voters that the party had lost. | Early focus groups conducted by Mattinson’s team found relief among some voters that the party had lost. |
| One Labour supporter in London’s Ealing Central and Acton constituency said they were “a little bit disappointed and a little bit relieved”, a view that was echoed across the country, according to the Independent. | One Labour supporter in London’s Ealing Central and Acton constituency said they were “a little bit disappointed and a little bit relieved”, a view that was echoed across the country, according to the Independent. |
| Harman said voters had felt the party didn’t talk about people like them and was seen as supporting people on benefits but not those who work hard. | |
| Warning her party to expect more painful analysis, she said it would be better to have some turbulence now than to “paper over the cracks”. | Warning her party to expect more painful analysis, she said it would be better to have some turbulence now than to “paper over the cracks”. |
| “Sometimes after a big general election defeat, some people take lessons that protect their own involvement in the campaign,” Harman said. “They don’t want things looked at because they feel defensive. Others want to find things that support what they want the party to do in the future. | “Sometimes after a big general election defeat, some people take lessons that protect their own involvement in the campaign,” Harman said. “They don’t want things looked at because they feel defensive. Others want to find things that support what they want the party to do in the future. |
| “It is really important for the party that it is not defensive about the past but is absolutely honest and clear-eyed and faces up to the truth of what people are saying.” | “It is really important for the party that it is not defensive about the past but is absolutely honest and clear-eyed and faces up to the truth of what people are saying.” |
| Her warning echoes that of Labour’s former communications chief Alistair Campbell, who said the party should prepare for soul-searching. | Her warning echoes that of Labour’s former communications chief Alistair Campbell, who said the party should prepare for soul-searching. |
| Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Campbell said: “We are in big trouble, and we are in big trouble in the UK, which is why this leadership election is very, very important. I wish we were having the election at the end of the debate, not instead of the debate. But we have to understand this may not be the bottom.” | Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Campbell said: “We are in big trouble, and we are in big trouble in the UK, which is why this leadership election is very, very important. I wish we were having the election at the end of the debate, not instead of the debate. But we have to understand this may not be the bottom.” |
| Most of the party’s biggest politicians have now given their verdicts on what they believe went wrong with the election campaign, including the five who have entered the leadership race: Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, Liz Kendall, Mary Creagh and Jeremy Corbyn. | |
| The leading candidates have all made arguments about Labour needing to appeal more to people’s aspirations, arguing Miliband’s manifesto did not spell out sufficiently how the party would help those in work improve their lives. | |
| However, Corbyn, a late addition to the race who is standing on a leftwing, anti-austerity platform, wrote in the Guardian on Monday that Labour needs rather to be aspirational about “closing the huge inequality gap in Britain, ensuring everyone is decently housed, and that the minimum wage rises to become a fair living wage”. | |
| “The party was founded over a century ago to bring about greater social justice in society. There has also long been a peace tradition within Labour, much of which was suppressed, if not forced to disappear, under New Labour. I want Labour to represent that peace movement again,” he wrote. | |
| “It’s time to rediscover the community basis of the Labour party, as we need to fight back against the very damaging things this government is planning to do to the most vulnerable in society. There’s never been a more important time to rebuild a Labour party for that purpose.” | |
| Related: The undoing of Ed Miliband – and how Labour lost the election | Patrick Wintour | Related: The undoing of Ed Miliband – and how Labour lost the election | Patrick Wintour |
| In another major intervention, Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary, has written in the Guardian that Miliband allowed himself to be “perceived as uninterested in schools policy”. | In another major intervention, Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary, has written in the Guardian that Miliband allowed himself to be “perceived as uninterested in schools policy”. |
| He wrote: “In our increasingly presidential politics, the media refracts every issue through the party leader’s personal capital. This, coupled with sincere concerns about “initiative-itus” and teacher exhaustion, tempered our radicalism, allowing the Tories to seize far too much of the education mantle.” | He wrote: “In our increasingly presidential politics, the media refracts every issue through the party leader’s personal capital. This, coupled with sincere concerns about “initiative-itus” and teacher exhaustion, tempered our radicalism, allowing the Tories to seize far too much of the education mantle.” |
| Hunt said Labour “muddled its priorities with the tuition fees cut”. | Hunt said Labour “muddled its priorities with the tuition fees cut”. |
| “There are strong economic arguments for investing in higher education and the current policy loading massive debt upon the taxpayer,” he wrote. “But poor children in Stoke-on-Trent start school two years behind their peers in leafier parts of the country. Eighty per cent of the GCSE attainment gap is present by age seven. If our main goal is eradicating educational inequality, then our investment priority must always be the early years.” | “There are strong economic arguments for investing in higher education and the current policy loading massive debt upon the taxpayer,” he wrote. “But poor children in Stoke-on-Trent start school two years behind their peers in leafier parts of the country. Eighty per cent of the GCSE attainment gap is present by age seven. If our main goal is eradicating educational inequality, then our investment priority must always be the early years.” |