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What's Left?

Andrew Rawnsley chairs a studio debate on the future of the Labour Party, following its devastating defeat in the 2015 general election.

Andrew Rawnsley chairs a debate on the future of the Labour Party, following its devastating defeat at the General Election. Despite 5 years of austerity and UKIP eating into the Tory vote, Labour lost more than twenty seats and were two million votes behind the Conservatives. Majorities were overturned across the country: MPs with strong local followings lost their seats. Most significantly, the party was virtually routed in Scotland in perhaps the most significant electoral change in Britain for a generation. Now Labour is looking for a new leader, but there is a wider debate to be had. Where does it - and the wider centre-left - go from here? Do they make a clear pitch for the disaffected voices of their traditional working class supporters? Do they return to Blairism, triangulating between left and right? How do they confront the nationalist surge in Scotland? And how do they deal with the legacy of their own past? Those taking part: Jon Cruddas MP, Hilary Wainwright, Tristram Hunt MP, Torcuil Crichton and Professor Tim Bale.
Producer: Simon Coates.

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Sat 6 Jun 2015 22:15

Broadcasts

  • Wed 3 Jun 2015 20:00
  • Sat 6 Jun 2015 22:15