Labour needs to accept that the voters were right to reject its manifesto

It is no use the party blaming the mainstream media for its defeat – it was the policies, and Jeremy Corbyn’s perceived incompetence, that lost Labour the election

The first step to coming to terms with an election defeat is to accept that the voters were right. This can be hard for partisans and party members, and it is telling how different Labour politicians have responded to the challenge.

Jeremy Corbyn, as graceless in defeat as he was when being asked hard questions during the campaign, failed the test. He wrote an impersonal letter to all Labour’s defeated candidates in which he said, “I take my responsibility for that result” – but the very next word was “but”.

He defended the manifesto, “full of transformational policies”, and urged them to build on and unite behind it. It may not matter much what Mr Corbyn thinks, as he prepares to leave the scene of the crime, but the least he could do is tell Labour members the truth.