The recently published review into the Labour party’s performance at the 2019 is a welcome one, not least because it is honest and properly analyses the range of issues that meant we didn’t have the success we wanted.
For many it seems like a lifetime ago, so much has changed in our country, in the world, since December. However, for those who, like me, who were out in the cold and rain week in week out, desperately campaigning for the Labour government, we know what was needed to bring the stability and hope to our country, the hurt and frustration is still there. It was the same in 2015 and 2017, when like many activists and candidates the campaign dominated my life and the final result was so disappointing.
However, the most important thing to come from this report is a recognition that the Labour Party has a lot of work to do to win the next General Election. We have much to be optimistic about. We have a leader who is out performing Boris Johnson at every PMQs, a government whose handling of the Covid-19 crisis has been patchy at best and a new found national love for our NHS, but that doesn’t mean that victory at GE 2024 (or whenever it is) is a forgone conclusion. In fact quite the opposite, it’s going to be a long slog.
More than anything else, we need to be a party that listens. To really understand the reasons that people didn’t vote Labour in Harlow we need to speak to them and asking them what their priorities are.
Personally, I can’t wait to get started campaigning again, to talk to residents and have genuine dialogue with them about Labour’s failings. I started just before this crisis and although these conversations are difficult, I also know how vital they are.
I’m proud to serve Harlow as a district councillor and now portfolio holder but believe that this town and the people in it deserve so much more than this Tory government. I will continue to fight for that, the next Labour government. Giving up was never ever an option!
Cllr Chris Vince