It’s not ‘Tory lite’ to recognise that Labour’s problem is economic credibility | Chuka Umunna

Of course the last Labour government did not cause the global financial crisis. But we did make errors, and until we admit that, the electorate will not listen to us

Last month the British people went to the polls and gave the Labour party a hammering. Some expected defeat, but few expected a Tory majority, not even the Tories themselves according to senior cabinet ministers I’ve spoken to.

The reasons are many and varied and, in the immediate wake of our defeat, people have naturally made arguments that suit their particular political perspectives. But whether you thought our offer was insufficiently “radical” (whatever radical means) or you thought it was insufficiently anchored in the centre ground, most agree that our perceived lack of competence severely compromised our ability to gain the support needed.

We should start by acknowledging that we should not have been running a small but historically unremarkable deficit

Related: For Labour the choice is stark: purity, or power | Martin Kettle

Continue reading...