Labour must gain trust of population again, say senior Shropshire party members
Labour must work to gain the trust of the general population and not just members of its own party if it wants to return to power, senior party members have said.
Shaun Davies, leader of Labour-run Telford & Wrekin Council, and party candidates for The Wrekin and Shrewsbury said more needed to be done to make the party credible going forward.
Councillor Davies said: "We must learn and learn quickly from this defeat.
"There will be a new leadership team at the top the Labour Party, a new generation of Labour leaders, a new set of ideas, a new energy and a chance for us to reconnect with our communities.
"As a party we have much to do to win the trust of our residents, much to do to put forward a plan to improve our country. That work must start immediately.
"Locally, me and my team will continue to deliver on the manifesto we were elected on in May, we will continue on an agenda to protect, invest and care - creating a better borough , the place we are proud to call home.
"The government's mandate is clear as is our local MPs, but we will continue to call out unfairness and stand up for investment in our borough and be on the side of residents to protect services including at our hospital."
Councillor Davies said the party must look beyond labels of Corbynism, Blairism and left and right.
Disappointment
"What’s important is that Labour has a view on the challenges and opportunities that this country faces, that is has a solution or is able to embrace new opportunities. What’s important is we have a credible vision underlined by our values for 2020 Britain and when the Labour Party asks for the opportunity to serve, the country believes we are competent, compassionate and confident enough to be their government."
Julia Buckley, who stood for Labour in Shrewsbury, said there was disappointment in the result, but that Labour activists in the area were continuing to work hard in their communities.
"Even in the pit of despair and disappointment of last week, most conversations have been about how we can do more," she said. "Our fear is there will be more need of help for vulnerable people. I'm not hearing arguments about the leader, what members are asking is how we can help the food bank or senior citizens.
"The thing that we need to do better is to have the credibility to win over the confidence of the majority of people.It can be idealistic and have policies that appeal to members, but we need to move to a place where we gain confidence of people.
Accept
"It will take compromise and sacrifice. We've done it before and we will do it again."
Dylan Harrison, who stood in The Wrekin, said: "The party has to pick a leader that the electorate are going to be happy with, not just the party.
"I voted for Corbyn. I found him genuine and an inspiration, but clearly that didn't come over.
"With the next leader, I'll be looking at their back story. This is what we have to contend with. If people have done things that have been an error of judgement in the past, they'll be brought out and repeated and repeated ad nauseam. If we're going to be in government, we need to have someone who the public will accept."
Mr Harrison said there had been a number of issues mentioned on the doorstep during his campaign.
"On reflection, the warning signs were there, we just didn't pick up on them," he said. "There was Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn was unpopular and there was a mistrust of Labour's spending plans.
"I think we've got to look at it as a whole really. I was very fond of Jeremy. He was a gamble that didn't work out."
