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The work must make “use of the [union] flag veterans [and] dress smartly ”as part of a radical rebranding to help regain the trust of disillusioned voters, according to a leaked internal strategy presentation.
The presentation, which has been seen and heard by The Guardian, is aimed at what the party calls “core seats,” a new term for the “red wall” constituencies that gave Boris Johnson a landslide victory in 2019. and other seats that he fears may also turn blue. It will be seen as an indicator of how concerned Labor is about its electoral position.
It reveals that voters were unable to describe who or what Labor represents. While Labor leader Keir Starmer is hailed by voters as the party’s biggest positive driver, concerns were raised about him “sitting on the fence.”
The strategy has yet to be shared with most MPs or employees, and it is understood that Labor Party managers are preparing a redacted version due to its “sensitivity.” Some party officials who have seen the presentation are alarmed by the language, believing that the leadership has not taken into account the nationalist sentiments it invokes.
Presenting the strategy last month, including an investigation into the party’s branding by the Republic agency dating back to September, the party’s head of investigation said voters were confused about “what we stand for and what our purpose is, but also who we represent. ”
His slides included comments from focus groups such as: “I don’t know anything about the Labor Party at the moment, they have been too quiet” and “he [Starmer] you need to stop sitting on the fence. “
Voters view this fog as deliberate and cynical, senior officials have been told, showing that Starmer and his team “are not being direct and honest … about where we want to be.” A Birmingham voter described Labor as “two different parties under one name.” A former Grimsby Labor voter is quoted: “They are the voice of the students. They have left behind real people, taxpayers. “
Labor’s new strategy is based on extensive focus groups from Watford to Grimsby conducted in September along with nationwide surveys. The findings are now being reported to some politicians and senior officials, and already appear to be shaping Labor communications and policymaking.
The presentation suggests that displays of patriotism are needed to reinforce that the party has changed. One slide reads: “Membership must be reinforced through all messengers,” while another is titled “Communicating Labor’s respect and commitment to the country may represent a shift in party body language.”
Among the top recommendations are: “Wearing the flag, veterans, dressing up at the war memorial, etc., gives voters a sense of authentic value alignment.” When asked for a response, a senior Labor official said the language came from the agency’s investigation and not its own writing.
The biggest possible consequences of the left playing national identity politics have worried some staff members who have seen the presentation. One said, “I was sitting there, mentally going over the assault on the Capitol [in Washington last month] And think: are you really that blind to what happens when you start to indulge the language and concerns of the right? “
Clive Lewis, one of the leading MPs from the Labor ethnic minorities, said: “The Conservative party has absorbed Ukip and now Labor seems to be absorbing the language and symbols of the Conservative party.”
Lewis served as a soldier in Afghanistan, but condemned the waving of his party’s flag. “It is not patriotism; it is the ism of the fatherland. There is a better way to build social cohesion than to follow the path of the nativist right. “
In WhatsApp messages, sent within hours of a briefing, senior officials ordered: “Please prioritize Union Jack header images, not red ones.”
Earlier this week, Starmer hosted a political party broadcast alongside a union flag and vowed to “rebuild our country.” Red wall voters have also come under fire with a Facebook ad, demanding that Conservatives be tougher on border control, something the Labor Party emphasized in an opposition day debate on Monday.
Britain is blocked. But the borders are open. Any idea why? the ad read, drawing criticism for language describing the hotel quarantine system that would normally be used in xenophobic attacks on immigrants.
The strategy warns the party to prepare for a backlash from “Scots and younger voters,” especially ahead of the Holyrood election in May.
The strategy accepts that the Labor Party has “excluded” and “ignored” once the core voters, which the presentation appears to blame on the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, under whom the party is described as a “protest party. “, which expresses” unpatriotic “feelings, with” Arrogance “and” idealism “.
Last year’s election inquiry by party heavyweights like Ed Miliband described the cause somewhat differently, concluding that the loss of votes was a consequence of alienation problems dating back decades.
Staff members are also concerned about policy ideas presented to focus groups, including 5,000 new police officers, a fund to invest in arid streets and protect local bus services. A staff member who attended another presentation said: “I couldn’t remember any of those ideas half an hour later. They were that boring. ”Labor said those policies had been chosen by an agency and were used as examples to test voters’ priorities.
A senior Labor official said that although the wording had been drawn up by an outside agency, senior officials agreed on the rationale and said it was intended to demonstrate internally the challenges facing the party. “Different parts of the Labor Party have different views on what went wrong and what didn’t – this is generally a reality check of what the public thinks of Labor.”
The strategy also suggests that the party fears that Boris Johnson’s lasting “relationship” could maintain his popularity in the country. The attacks will focus on “incompetence” to address the Covid crisis and plan to next focus on the “waste” of conservatives and the feeling that they are “arrogant and selfish.”
The investigation also finds that voters believe that Labor is the “spend, spend, spend” party, attributed to the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The result, according to the title of a slide, is: “No part of the brand is isolated from the lack of financial credibility.”
While the public is said to be more concerned with the economy, health care and Britain’s exit from the EU, in that order, it sees Labor politicians share just one of those priorities, health, while considering that conservatives care more about Brexit and the economy. .
A Labor Party spokesman said the presentation consisted of conclusions reached by a third party instead of Labor officials. “This is a report from an external organization from September 2020. It is about pre-existing perceptions of the party. Keir [Starmer] and angela [Rayner, deputy leader] They have been very clear that Labor has a mountain to climb to win in 2024, but it is on the right track. “
