Labour needs new message as Tories reshape economic policy around towns | Richard Partington

For decades, cities had been prioritised as the engine of growth, with London at the apex

Let the recriminations commence. In the aftermath of electoral defeat in its former industrial heartlands, Labour is in search of yet another new direction. While much of the focus is on the fundamental shifts in our politics, it is worth remembering the economics underpinning them.

Part of the story is about timing. Labour's punishment at the ballot box comes as most things appear to be going right for the government. There was a time last year when it was a very different scenario, with the botched handling of Covid leading to the highest death rate and worst economic collapse in the G7, ministers doling out contracts to friends, and the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, desperate to make an unemployment crisis worse by closing the furlough scheme.

From catastrophe, an unlikely recipe for electoral success has emerged

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