Why Australian Labor lost

A very interesting read of the review into why Labor lost the 2019 election despite leading in every poll for two years.

Some key extracts:

• Labor lost the election because of a weak strategy that could not adapt to the change in Liberal leadership, a cluttered policy agenda that looked risky and an unpopular leader
• The size and complexity of Labor’s spending announcements, totalling more than $100 billion, drove its tax policies and exposed Labor to a Coalition attack that fuelled anxieties among insecure, low-income couples in outer-urban and regional Australia that Labor would crash the economy and risk their jobs.
• A grievance-based approach can create a culture of moving from one issue to the next, formulating myriad policies in response to a broad range of concerns. Care needs to be taken to avoid Labor becoming a grievance-based organisation.
• Low-income workers swung against Labor.
• Labor lost some support among Christian voters – particularly devout, first-generation migrant Christians.
• Labor should position itself as a party of economic growth and job creation. Labor should adopt the language of inclusion, recognising the contribution of small and large businesses to economic prosperity, and abandon derogatory references to “the big end of town”.

A very good review. Will Labor take it to heart?