Andy Slaughter Blames Mail and Sun For Corbyn Defeat
Says Labour party needs to be a broad coalition to win elections
Andy Slaughter making his acceptance speech
Labour’s returning MP in Hammersmith, Andy Slaughter, has suggested The Sun and Daily Mail newspapers are responsible for voters’ negative perception of Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr Slaughter, a former minister and MP since 2005, held his West London seat with 17,847 votes, down from 18,651 in the 2017 election.
The Conservative candidate Xingang Wang came second with 12,227 votes, while the Lib Dem Jessie Venegas trailed in third with 6,947.
Mr Slaughter, 59, was asked whether Jeremy Corbyn’s abilities as Labour leader were what lay behind the party’s defeat.
"I don’t think that’s worth analysing," he said.
"But for whatever reason, whether it’s because of his personal experience, or being portrayed as more left wing, and a target for the conservative media, he got more negative attention. And in a way, some of that stuck.
"I don’t know if it’s because Boris was better than Theresa May, or whether we have had two-and-a-half more years of the Daily Mail and The Sun drilling messages into people."
He acknowledged that Labour’s policy on Brexit could "more easily be portrayed as unclear". But said it was actually "more coherent" than the Tories’ promise to "get Brexit done".
However, he felt that voters in Labour’s now-lost heartlands in the north will end up "disappointed" by Boris Johnson’s pledges to boost spending on the NHS, schools and the police.
"We may end up in five years knocking on doors asking people ‘where are those new teachers and nurses you were promised?" he said.
Asked if Labour now has a problem appealing to its traditional working class voters, as well as left-leaning voters in urban centres, Mr Slaughter said: "I think this party should be a broad coalition.
"Each constituency is an assembly of different people, so you can appeal to people who are young and well-off and working in the City, and people who are working class in social housing.
"We won in every ward in Hammersmith, so that shows the party has broad appeal."
Mr Slaughter didn’t wish to suggest a successor to Jeremy Corbyn, who can unite the warring factions in the party, but said, "There’s lots of people who are really high calibre and who could do that job.
"There’s Yvette Cooper, Hilary Benn, Angela Rayner, Keir Starmer. We’re not short of talent. But there is more pressure to build a consensus."
| Candidate | Party | Number of votes | Percentage share |
|---|---|---|---|
Andy Slaughter |
Labour Party | 30,074 |
57.9 |
Xingang Wang |
Conservative Party | 12,227 |
23.5 |
Jessie Venegas |
Liberal Democrat | 6,947 |
13.4 |
Alex Horn |
Green Party | 1,744 |
3.4 |
James Andrew Keyse |
Brexit Party | 974 |
1.9 |
December 14, 2019