Richard Burgon: Labour was “SMASHED” in 2019 because of Brexit

It was Brexit and the second referendum that lost Labour the general election, not socialist policy’s.

Richard Burgon, Labour MP and former shadow justice secretary tells Mark Dolan that his party’s position on Brexit “ended up being a disaster”.

He states Labour almost won in the 2017 general election but added “in the 2019 general election…we got smashed”. Mr Burgon blamed this on the shift in policy between 2017 and 2019.

Whilst discussing the recently released report into Labour’s election performance, Mr Burgon also referenced a recently leaked ‘report’ which he said contained allegations about a number of unelected officials in the party who “were seeking to sabotage our election prospects in 2017”.

In the future he said it would be a “big mistake” for Labour to draw the conclusion they lost the 2019 election because of “reforming and re-distributive” policies, suggesting that ultimately he believes an economic crisis is on its way “hot on the heels” of the coronavirus pandemic.

Richard Burgon says Jeremy Corbyn would be three years into government if not for ‘disloyal and disgraceful’ Labour MPs

Burgon in an open honest interview that puts other so-called Left MP’s to shame also points out the fact Labour lost the general election because of Brexit, not any socialist policies

In an interview with the Mirror, the left-wing candidate for Labour’s deputy leadership explains why he thinks the party should double down on giving members the final say – and argues MPs are ‘seduced’ to ‘forget their roots’

The ex-Shadow Justice Secretary shot to prominence as an unwavering defender of Jeremy Corbyn and the left-wing politics which also propelled the Labour Party into having the biggest membership of any European political party.

However, the party is still licking its wounds after its heaviest defeat since the 1930s, and now the damning report known as the Labour Leaks. Showing staffers actively worked to stop the Labour party and Jeremy corb7n winning the 2017 election. This was not just sabotage of an election but it undermines our entire democratic system. When the operation works to lose an election you don’t have a democracy. Link

Richard Burgon pulls no punches in his interview with Andrew Marr, Burgon is honest and direct.

Sat in his Westminster office, beneath photographs of former NUM leader Arthur Scargill being arrested and Labour founder Keir Hardie, the Shadow Justice Secretary firmly rejects the idea that it was the party’s left politics that lost them the last election.

The Leeds East MP is unrepentant and believes it wasn’t the party left-wing policies that kept them from power.

It was Brexit and the second referendum that lost Labour the general election, not socialist policies. He said:

“In 2017 we had a socialist leader, Jeremy, the manifesto of socialist policies and we came close to winning. We came to close to winning, it was an electoral advance if only we’d have won.

“In 2019, same leader, the same manifesto of socialist policies and we got smashed. It was a devastating defeat. And what changed in those two years was the Brexit issue and also I think the right-wing press upping its game at demonising Jeremy.”

Read more…

Sir Keir Starmer has urged Labour to ‘move on’ from Brexit and focus on taking on Tories, This, of course, is in Starmer’s best interest, the more distance he can get from his own vote-losing Brexit policy the more secure he makes his position and the argument for the Labour party to take the centre-ground and return to the politics of New Labour regardless of the at this point predominantly Left-wing membership.