Labour's post-Brexit electoral strategy

Curtice, John (2021) Labour's post-Brexit electoral strategy. IPPR Progressive Review, 27 (4). pp. 414-425. ISSN 2573-2331 (https://doi.org/10.1111/newe.12228)

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Abstract

Labour emerged from the December 2019 general election badly battered and bruised. In the wake of a contest whose principal purpose was to bring an end to the seemingly endless debate about how Brexit should be settled, it found itself with fewer MPs than at any time since 1935. It is little wonder that the party is debating how it can improve its fortunes now that Brexit has been resolved. The search for an answer is, however, less straightforward than many in the party seem to appreciate. Although a dominant narrative as to the way forward seems to have emerged, there is an alternative perspective that raises questions about the viability of this approach. Both perspectives recognise that Brexit has reshaped the electoral landscape, and disrupted Labour's electoral coalition. However, whereas the dominant narrative reckons it is possible for Labour to reverse that disruption, the alternative perspective suggests Labour faces a potentially difficult choice about the kind of voter on which it focuses its hopes in post-Brexit Britain.

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