Labour ‘irrelevant’, claims MP Stuart
A BIRMINGHAM MP who was one of Labour’s leading Brexit supporters has accused the party of making itself “irrelevant”.
Outgoing MP Gisela Stuart, who co-chaired the Vote Leave campaign, said the party had to “think hard” about why it did not share the “optimism” of voters who backed Brexit.
Writing in The Telegraph, she said Labour had to be more than a pressure group and sell itself as a party that shared voters’ desires.
The Birmingham Edgbaston MP said that Brexit will be the “defining issue for this generation” and warned that the campaign so far lacked “precision”.
She said: “This is the best opportunity since 1945 to renew our nation’s politics and society and it speaks volumes that at this moment Labour has made itself irrelevant.
“If we do want to be a party of government again, Labour must prepare for its own process of renewal.”
She said Labour could focus on the Conservative Party’s record on schools, the NHS and housing.
However, the party will need more than a “wish list and a collection of grievances”, she said.
Ms Stuart also urged the leadership to resist the temptation to plan for a hung parliament and make pacts with other parties.