did Jeremy Corbyn lose the general
election or did Boris Johnson win it
what do you think round inevitably a bit
above I mean I think the truth is that
when two parties and more parties
obviously but it boiled down so labour
or conservative they're offering two
different manifestos people look at both
of them I noticed when I knocked on
doors
people were saying spontaneously to me
before I could have even got to them
whether they were remain as like I was
or levers
we've just got to move on I'm just so
bored of this going round in circles
we can't carry on like this Boris
Johnson with great enthusiasm to thee
which party is gonna get brexit done
clearly that was Boris Johnson and then
other people would say you know I will
not vote for Jeremy Corbyn because of
and they may have a different reason so
I think in the truth of the matter is
people vote for a whole combination of
reasons but in this election in this
case as I think everybody has
acknowledged and I I think this is true
people wanted to vote to unblock the
country to get things moving again
and I think that's the explanation for
really a surprisingly large majority in
the end it was just the idea that we
just can't go on like this people just
thought enough is enough and it was
larger than you thought then surprised
me Louis I in fact the the PM called me
at 10 to 10 I sort of famous my
spreadsheets and making trying to make
the prediction on on this and I thought
that he would have a majority but I have
to say it took me by surprise so what do
you think it was he about half the size
Wow Stephen Boris Johnson is a known
liar he lied to the Queen
he lied to our country he leads a
government that has gutted our public
services has absolutely seen a
triggering of an explosion in child
poverty it is absolutely clear this is
not a Tory victory this is a labor
failure how could
the Labour Party not defeat a government
like this after nine years of Tory
failure they've turned our country into
an international laughingstock they have
decimated our public services they have
utterly failed to show the leadership
that our country needs and they're
tearing our communities apart and yet we
could not beat them and that is a
damning indictment of Labour's failure I
am afraid to say and I think that a lot
of this came down to trust I've knocked
thousands and thousands of doors over
the last five to six weeks and on the
doorstep in my constituency there were
three key messages one was on leadership
mr. Kinnick we're sorry we voted labour
all our lives but we can't vote for you
whilst Jeremy Corbyn is your leader on
brexit they didn't have to understand
why we were not prepared to respect the
result of the referendum and leave the
European Union with a deal that
protected jobs and livelihoods something
I've been arguing for for three years
and on the economy there was a feeling
that there was a scattergun approach
with much of the radical change that we
desperately need to see in our economy
somehow hidden under a smokescreen of
too many promises and too much in there
it became something of a Christmas
wishlist and it is absolutely clear that
when you're fighting a general election
on that basis you're fighting with at
least one hand tied behind your back but
I think most of all we have to be clear
that we've got to think now about the
future of our country we are looking
down the barrel of five more years of
austerity of divisive nough sync on
Patricia d that is for our country when
you talk about a failure of leadership
if you think about the last Labour
leaders so you've had a centrist Gordon
Brown awfully he didn't succeed
ed Miliband soft left he didn't get
anywhere they've heard Jeremy Corbyn
twice further to left he hasn't got
anywhere where does the Labour Party go
well we rebuilt from 1983 onwards we
have famously had a man
faster in 1983 that was dubbed the
longest suicide note in history what you
had in the problem is it fair too late
so firmly the feet of Jeremy Corbyn give
no failure the other team look look III
think there were a whole range of
factors here and jeremy corbyn's
leadership was absolutely a major factor
but it's not possible to disentangle
that from the failure to have clarity on
brexit is if you if seventeen point four
million people have voted for something
in 2016 and you go back to them in 2019
and say we're not going to implement if
we get into government what you voted
for but by the way could you please vote
for us in this in this general election
it's not really surprising that you get
the result you get in the north and the
midlands and it's in parts of wales in
our heartland seat so we need to be a
party that can reconnect with our
working-class heartlands and until we do
that we will never find a route back to
number 10 Downing Street Danny you ask
the question isn't there a more
fundamental problem though I think I'm
correct in saying if you take out the
tube the Blair victories Labour haven't
won a general election in 50 years well
I I think that there is there is a
fundamental problem which is that we
have over the years I think been losing
touch with our working-class heartlands
and that problem was turbocharged by
brexit and our decision to shift to a
position of not respecting the results
of the referendum and going for a good
deal the protected jobs and livelihoods
which is the position we had no 2017
manifesto where we did far far better
than expected and I think that when you
put those issues of leadership and Trust
together with that particular issue
around brexit that was I think though
that that was the fundamentally at the
heart of this failure in this general
election tree well I think it's
important to point out that both Jeremy
Corbyn and Boris Johnson lost in
Scotland and lost heavily and I think
the the problem
for both was that they weren't listening
to people in Scotland we saw from Lieber
a complete lack of leadership you know
an inability to find a position to take
a position on brexit or indeed in
scotland on independence or inability to
to go with the the mood of the public
which is clearly that we want a choice
into the future and we've seen Boris
Johnson and his government just standing
fast against the will of the public now
this is the fourth election that the SNP
of one in Scotland won it with a
manifesto to say that Scotland should
have a choice over its future and yet
that continues to be ignored by both
parties in Scotland and you can't ignore
people wherever you are in the nations
of the UK
you can't ignore people because that's
the way you lose the will you lose the
support of the people and you lose the
ability to represent them they're just
not listening both of them but I think
the Labour Party about our absolutely
critical problem in their lack of
leadership does anyone you yes because
you've been quite suspiciously quiet and
I wonder what's going on here oh hang on
something lots of hands up it's yes the
man here in the in the coachee
- Stephen I'm a former soldier in the
British Army and I'm offended by your
leaders comments associations with
terrorists etc you'd have had more
chance of winning if you brought your
dad back uh is it time for it's time for
labour to abandon socialism as it
clearly isn't work in England okay I'm
just gonna go round and number three for
me yes the woman there with white
sweater
so obviously breaks it to collage stance
why weren't other policies such as
education and student needs highlighted
as well okay I'm just gonna round up if
you can't keep your hands out those are
ice I'll lose track of you in the
audience yes the man there it's the SNP
you listening to the 55% of people who
voted for union backing parties last
night and Scotland okay I think we made
that subject we may come onto you lady
yes and just the woman in the frontier
why is there such a big focus on brexit
when there's a load of teenagers dying
every other week
and it's very thought are you talking
about nine I'm not even just knife crime
just generally every every part is
manifestos about let's get Brett let's
get Brett's it done let's move forward a
brexit but a lot of people are dying and
terrorist attacks are growing and
nothing's in in my opinion nothing it's
being done in people in Labour's
manifest manifesto conservative
manifesto it's just all based on bricks
it breaks it breaks it and I just don't
think it's right so the most important
thing to you yes it's the woman then yes
you mean um I think Stephen is
completely right when he suggests those
three key points as to why the Labour
Party lost the election Corbin's lack of
leadership a failure of a clear position
on Baxter anti poor manifesto but he's
showing away from the fact that another
one of those key reasons is
anti-semitism
that's rife in the Labour Party and you
need to be the Labour Party need to be
honest and clear and have a strong
position on getting rid of anti-semitism
from the Labour Party if they truly want
to win the next because I I know that
anyone here in the audience who want to
speak up for Jeremy Corbyn yes you there
I think to simplify the debate by having
a problem with Corbin is ridiculous I
think you need to look at the smear
campaign against him the media bias
which has been shocking disgusting
beginning yeah right the fact that
managed to pick you out hopefully it's
not an example of that Michael um I
rather hope that the Labour Party finds
some way of digging itself out the hole
that it's made itself because I believe
that you know we're going to have a Tory
government for the next five years quite
possibly for the next ten or more years
because that's the the normal cycle of
things but it's always better for a
government to have a healthy opposition
well the question though Michael was was
is because it's not just about Labour's
did Jeremy Corbyn lose it or did Boris
Johnson win it yeah but the point I was
going to make is that the way that
Stephen goes about it I mean he treats
I'm afraid that your comments rather
treated the electorate who have just
elected by an overwhelming majority of
Conservative government with contempt
you're saying you know you know it's all
about we must concentrate on the future
of the country what do you think that
the electorate were voting for yesterday
other than the future of their country
they decided that Boris Johnson and the
Conservatives had a much better record
than your party with its anti-semitism
which you have failed to deal with over
years and the first thing that I believe
that you must do to get the Labour Party
together again is to accept plural
plurality in other words that people
have a right to another opinion than
yours and clean up there's this
despicable momentum anti-semitism that
you've been deal
[Applause]
I had a really difficult time this
election and actually I thought for the
first time ever I might spoil my ballot
and I felt like I was being asked to
choose between Boris Johnson who has
been set twice for lying from jobs not
classically a great asset for somebody
wants to become our prime minister you
know who was unable to answer really
fundamental questions who was a social
liberal and a pro banker guy when he was
London Mayor and he's now running on a
tough law-and-order policy I don't know
who the real Boris Thompson is that you
come to Jeremy Corbyn and having been a
journalist I previously worked on a
left-leaning magazine I've seen what
it's like to try and cover the Labour
Party fairly and it is very hard because
it is incredibly defensive but any
criticism of the Labour Party and I'm
sorry but sometimes you do have to face
the fact that you are not perfect Jeremy
Corbyn isn't very much not perfect on
anti-semitism and he had a campaign
where I'm afraid he was defensive
petulant and pious and I think that was
repulsive to a lot of people and I got
into the ballot box and I thought I
don't think any of you people deserve to
be in charge of this country I don't
[Applause]
[Music]