As Katy reported earlier, Labour has prepared a script that attempts to exonerate Jeremy Corbyn for the party’s terrible night in its heartlands in this referendum. I have now been leaked that script, which MPs are expected to use from 6am, and it makes rather entertaining reading.
The best line is the following:
‘Jeremy Corbyn has showed that he is far closer to the centre of gravity of the British public than other politicians. He is now the only politician who can unite a divided country, as he can speak to both sides.’
It also says that ‘Jeremy is uniquely placed as a critical remainer. He understands why people voted to leave, he understood people’s criticisms of Europe – and is the only leader of a major party in Britain to whom that applies’.
The party’s explanation for a poor performance in its own seats is that this was about austerity. Here is the script for questions about how Labour did:
Was this a rejection of Labour’s message?
No. We raised concerns about Europe throughout – and it’s very clear that Labour areas hit hardest by austerity and that are the most deprived, especially post-industrial
Hasn’t Labour lost touch with its working class base of support?
Many of the areas hardest hit by this government’s policies have used this referendum as a means to kick a Conservative government that is out of touch. This was a vote against a government that has failed to rebalance the economy, and has failed to deliver the Northern Powerhouse that it keeps announcing.
How do you explain that so many Labour areas have voted Leave?
Some areas have been deprived of investment for a generation, and feel left behind. Following six years of Tory austerity, and further industrial collapse.
It is clear that working class people who feel they have not benefited from this Tory recovery have rejected a status quo that has done nothing for them.
Hasn’t this campaign shown Labour is completely out of touch on immigration?
Immigration is clearly a big issue for people – and Labour has put forward solutions in this campaign: we’ve proposed restoring the Migration Impact Fund to help communities where there is a rapid influx of migrants and public services like housing, GPs surgeries and schools. That fund was setup by the last Labour government in 2008, but was abolished by David Cameron in 2010.
The Conservatives promised to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands to try to win votes. They have failed to deliver as they knew they would. Labour has practical solutions, the Tories have spin.
Labour has also proposed changes to employment law to stop migrant workers being exploited and to stop workers in Britain from being undercut, e.g. closing loophole in Posting of Workers Directive; employing more minimum wage inspectors; banning zero hours contracts; banning agencies from only advertising abroad for jobs in Britain.
To say that blaming austerity and claiming that Labour’s response was adequate will annoy Labour MPs is a very mild understatement. It has enraged some of them. I expect very strong comments from some of the key opponents of Corbyn in the next few hours.
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