It must come as a relief to many Labour MPs worried about their party’s electoral chances that the official report into why Labour lost in May will finally be published. But will it really make much of a difference? The BBC reports that the document, compiled by Margaret Beckett, will identify four key reasons for the party losing in May 2015, which are that it failed to shake off the myth that Labour was responsible for the financial crash and failed to build trust on economic issues, it didn’t connect with voters on key issues such as benefits and immigration, that Ed Miliband was not seen as being as strong a leader as David Cameron, and voters’ fears of the SNP propping up a minority Labour government.
So far, so unsurprising. It’s a wonder, really, that the party has been reluctant to publish this, given other reviews, such as that conducted by Jon Cruddas, reached similar conclusions months ago.
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