Love the Union Jack, respect British veterans and dress smartly: Labour’s secret battle plan for wannabe MPs to retake the Red Wall is leaked
- A leaked document shows Labour must brandish the Union flag to win voters
- Researchers found that voters could not decide what or who Labour stands for
- Labour’s new strategy is based on extensive focus groups in places like Grimsby
Labour must brandish the Union Jack and dress smartly if it is to win back the trust of voters lost during the Corbyn years, a leaked strategy document argues.
The presentation suggests the party must also praise military veterans if it is to retake the ‘red wall’ seats which turned to Boris Johnson in 2019.
Researchers found that voters could not decide what or who Labour stands for.
And while voters saw Sir Keir Starmer as the party’s biggest asset, they were concerned about him ‘sitting on the fence’.
Presenting the strategy last month, Labour’s head of research said voters were confused about ‘what we stand for, and what our purpose is, but also who we represent’.
While voters saw Sir Keir Starmer as the party’s biggest asset, they were concerned about him ‘sitting on the fence’
His slides, which were leaked to The Guardian, featured comments from the focus groups such as: ‘I don’t know anything about the Labour Party at the moment; they have been way too quiet.’
One Birmingham voter described Labour as ‘two different parties under one name’. And an ex-Labour voter from Grimsby said: ‘They are the voice of the students. They have left real people, taxpayers, behind.’
Labour’s new strategy is based on extensive focus groups conducted in places from Watford to Grimsby in September alongside UK polls.
The presentation suggests displays of patriotism are needed to reinforce the idea the party has changed.
Labour’s new strategy is based on extensive focus groups conducted in places from Watford to Grimsby
One slide says: ‘Communicating Labour’s respect and commitment for the country can represent a change in the party’s body language’.
Among the top recommendations is: ‘The use of the flag, veterans, dressing smartly at the war memorial etc [to] give voters a sense of authentic values alignment.’
Approached for a response, a senior Labour official said the language came from an agency’s research rather than their own phrasing.
Clive Lewis, one of Labour’s most prominent ethnic minority MPs, said: ‘The Tory party has absorbed Ukip and now Labour appears to be absorbing the language and symbols of the Tory party.’
Sir Keir recently presented a party-political broadcast beside a Union Jack, promising to ‘rebuild our country’.