The strategy, stupid. That was Labour’s fatal flaw and so it remains

Scotland remains an Achilles’ heel for Labour which it needs to mend if it is to win back power, writes Brian Monteith

As more candidates for the Labour leadership confirm their willingness to put themselves forward for what in reality must be the task of having to fight Boris Johnson over two terms the party is to have the chance of being in government, there is a very simple message that needs stating.

All the creative and clever policies in wonkland do not an election win; a personal following, while important, is not a game-changer; and banging on about dishonesty of opponents is not a winning approach in politics.

What might appear attractive policies to some are invariably unimportant or unattractive, or simply the wrong priorities for others. Being likeable to one particular demographic (such as younger voters) is not enough if another demographic (such as voters who remember the seventies, eighties or nineties) is turned off in similar fashion. Marmite has its place but jam, especially strawberry jam, sells better. Claiming to be more honest than others is, for politicians, akin to throwing stones in glass houses. Inevitably an example, probably many examples, of betrayal, double standards, hypocrisy and playing fast and loose with the truth will be dug up from the past – be it faking an overcrowded railway carriage to denying the laying a wreath in memory of a bloodthirsty terrorist.

Politicians are no different from the rest of us, despite the best efforts of many to convince us otherwise, they are in fact human. This means they err, they make mistakes, they are sinners. The electorate is willing to forgive some errors – but not all. Using the question of trust can rebound if it only serves to raise questions about one’s own.

Instead, before factoring in all the helpful ingredients that any leader can decide upon the one key fundamental that must be secured if election victory is to be possible is identifying the correct election strategy. Without this foundation being in place everything else will be futile – victory, even progress towards victory, will be elusive.

That is why the Conservatives not only won, but won big. Putting it another way, it is why Labour regressed, falling behind so far that it is likely Labour will not be in power until at least 2028 – a full 18 years out of power, just as it was during the years of Margaret Thatcher and John Major (19791997). Make the wrong choice of leader now and it could be even longer.

This requirement to identify the correct strategy to deliver your goals (usually winning a majority, but it can be moving from third to second) pertains to all parties – but in the case of Labour, how it performs in future in Scotland is especially important. If Labour cannot recover sufficient seats from the SNP then any advances by Labour in England and Wales will most likely count for nothing.

During the recent election I was constantly being lobbied by friends in the Conservative Party to ensure the Brexit Party did not stand any candidates in constituencies where, firstly, a Tory was the incumbent and might be defeated, and then latterly where a Tory might be able to defeat a Labour candidate. The threat of an accidental Corbyn victory because of disenchanted Tory or Labour votes bleeding out to the Brexit Party was the weapon of my suitors’ choice.

It was not difficult to resist these approaches for I was certain of one thing, that Boris Johnson would