Labour’s flag-waving drive to win back Red Wall voters could end up in vain, according to JOE Politics reports, with many people saying the party is already patriotic enough.
An internal strategy presentation leaked last week suggested that the use of the union flag and veterans will become a prominent part of the party as part of a radical rebrand which has been criticised for parroting elements of the Conservatives.
Referencing focus groups carried out in Grimsby there were suggestions that the party had left “real people” and “taxpayers behind” and that “communicating Labour’s respect and commitment for the country” could represent a change in the party’s body language.
Poor polling results this week has been partly blamed on the shift in direction, with the Labour left seemingly abandoning ship.
What’s more, reporting from Dennis Skinner’s old seat in Bolsover, lost to the Tories in 2019, suggests the new messages might not even resonate with the Red Wall voters Labour is trying to win back.
Voters in a JOE Politics report suggest moves to “help poorer people” and “listen to voices outside of London” would hit home more than any flag waving symbolism.
Making the party more “centrist” and “less socialist” were also cited as ways that Sir Keir Starmer could win back votes.
Watch the footage below in full:
"I'm a patriot and I would vote Labour."
— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) February 8, 2021
In the ‘Red Wall,’ former Labour voters don't think the party's unpatriotic – they just think it's too left-wing. pic.twitter.com/RptAUCcHVm
Related: “Nothing changes”: Rupert Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks held 7 meetings in 7 weeks with Govt ministers
Since you are here
Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.
Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.
Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.
If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.
To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.
The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.
The shop can be found here.
You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .
