(23 May 2024, 10:38 pm)mb134 wrote It's quite simply not true to say that the only thing that separates them is colour. The "Country First, Party Second" messaging that Labour have been putting out is an immediate difference, the Conservatives have pretty much been putting party first since 2016/7.
The only people who think this Labour party are the same as the Conservatives are either people on the far right who want to justify their vote for Reform UK, or people on the far left who are still sad Corbyn failed to win (twice).
Labour, at least going into this election, can't be too bold in my view. If they go too far left of centre (or if their messaging comes across that way) then they potentially lose the votes of the people in the centre who get them the majority. You can be as left wing as you want in a manifesto but it means sod all if it scares the public/makes you an easy target for the Daily Mail, and we saw the result of that in 2019. You only get to change things if you actually win.
You're 100% right there. People need to realise that the vast majority of people in Britain are either centre left or centre right. Whoever appeals most to the centre will win the election, and you can't do anything if you don't win the election first.
The Tories struggling so badly is no surprise with their dramatic lurch to the right, in the same way Labours problems were no shock when Corbyn took them hard to the left.