‘Start listening and stop telling people what’s best for them’: Labour winner’s message to party

The Labour Party needs to start listening and stop offering “flimsy policies that mean nothing to people”, a council leader has said.

The party was plunged into despair by Keir Starmer’s first electoral test as leader on so-called “Super Thursday”, suffering a devastating loss to the Conservatives in the Hartlepool by-election - the first time the Tories have won the seat for 62 years - and losing control of a number of councils.

The few brighter moments, however, included Liverpool choosing the UK’s first directly elected black female mayor in Joanne Anderson, better than expected results in Wales, and the local election results in Hull, where Labour retained control of the city council, and bucked the national trend by taking a seat from the Tories.

As someone who has consistently delivered electoral success for Labour, Hull Council leader Steve Brady is arguably as well placed as any to say what is going wrong, and what the party needs to do to change.

Councillor Brady told The Hull Story: “They haven’t been listening to people, they’ve been telling them what they think is best for them, and it’s got to stop.”

He said the road ahead would be “difficult”, but the party should start by responding to people’s needs, and not create “policy by think-tank”.

He said: “I think families have got to know that Labour are going to have that vision to help them and their children to have a better life, and not to just offer flimsy policies that mean nothing to people.

“They want better housing, they want their children to attain the best marks in school, they want the quality jobs to follow that. In short, as a family you wish the best for your children, so we as a party should be wanting the best for the people of this country.

“It’s going to be difficult for them, but if we don’t talk to people and understand what their day-to-day problems are how can you build policies for them? You can’t build policies by think-tank, you build them by listening to people and being able to credibly put forward policies that will help them, and to have the finances available to do it; that’s what people expect.”

He added: “They need to know they are not being left behind and to see Labour as really understanding, caring, and picking up their plight.”

Asked about the result in Hartlepool, Coun Brady said: “It wasn’t really a shock, was it? We all knew it was coming. It’s only 15 or 16 months since Boris Johnson had a huge majority in Parliament. People voted Tory for the first time and it makes it easier to vote for them again.

“So if you take people who have traditionally voted Labour for granted you get what’s coming to you, and we did. I don’t think I’m saying anything different to what Labour MPs will be saying now up and down the country. We have to change.”

But Coun Brady also said it would be “very unfair” to blame Starmer for Labour’s performance after just a year as leader.

He said: “I don’t blame Keir Starmer; I think he’s had to do the right thing and that’s supporting the Government in fighting the pandemic.

“I don’t think he’s had time to get his identity across. I do think he will but I think it would be very unfair to judge him on one year. His time will come.”