Labour need to show backbone and power on

JOURNALISTS love debating the future of the Labour Party. Gloomy public opinion polls hit us daily. There are rumblings that a change of leader is what is needed.

- David Taylor-Gooby

Clement Attlee's advice to a troublesome colleague could apply to Labour MPs today

But the problem goes deeper than that. Talking to sources in various Labour parties, not only in this region, but all over the country, all tell me the same story.

Membership is in decline, by as much as 25% in some places, and many parties are finding difficulty in filling key positions.

Most of those who joined in the Corbyn era have now left. The membership is ageing, but not many young ones are replacing them.

Would changing the leader improve things? Possibly, but much of what is happening is due to a change in society. British politics used to be based on social class, and the Labour Party was an alliance of organised trade unions and middle-class professionals, many of whom worked in the public sector and were sympathetic to Labour values.

The Conservatives represented upper class and business interests, but were very clever, from Disraeli onwards, at taking many working-class people with them, often using patriotism as an inducement.

The Liberals originally represented the middle class against the old ruling class but failed to secure the allegiance of the new working class in the 20th century. They have been marginalised by the first-past-the-post system, which tends to favour two parties.