Labour politicians and members on how the party can rebuild trust and win the next election

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As the Tories lurch from one crisis to the next, it’s increasingly looking like Labour won’t have to do a whole lot to win the next general election.

Liz Truss’ disastrous budget was just the latest in a long line of crises, and it’s working in Labour’s favour – the latest YouGov polls show the party now enjoys a 33-point lead. It’s the highest figure the party has ever recorded since the late 1990s.

It’s not that simple either though. A general election may not happen until January 2025, which means Labour is going to have to put in the work to convince voters that it has the vision to bring the UK into the future.

When it comes to the LGBTQ+ community, Labour has a big job on its hands. Once seen as champions of LGBTQ+ rights, Labour has, in recent years, become embroiled in transphobia rows and controversies.

Heather Peto has been a Labour member for more than 20 years, and in that time she’s worked extensively within the party to champion equalities. She says the party “sacrificed” trans and disabled members when it decided to “abandon” the equalities policy.

To win the next election, she believes they will need to win the support of LGBTQ+ people once more.

Labour party member Heather Peto says the party “sacrificed” trans and disabled members. (Provided)

“When I sat on the Labour Party’s NEC subcommittee for equalities, I made the point that Labour should build an electoral narrative with a simple message: ‘Fighting for equality and against inequality,'” Peto tells PinkNews.

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However, Peto says strategists within the party ultimately decided they should “ditch speaking about equality in the hope that the electorate would think the party was only thinking about economic inequality”.

It’s not just about LGBTQ+ rights either – Peto points out that Disability Labour branded the party “institutionally ableist” in September. For queer disabled people, the party has much to do to rebuild trust.

Labour must ‘listen to trans people’

That’s echoed by Natacha Kennedy – like Peto, she’s a longtime Labour member who believes the party must change if it wants to be ready to step into government after the next general election.

“I don’t think it’s been brilliant [on LGBTQ+ issues],” Kennedy tells PinkNews.

“I mean, it was quite good under Jeremy Corbyn I think. Labour has always been timid about things like this. I think Labour could have come out a little bit stronger on trans issues particularly.

“Trans people should have full human rights, particularly since being trans was fully depathologized by the World Health Organization (WHO), so I think that’s a fairly reasonable start, but I think there’s much more Labour could be doing for trans people, and LGB people as well.”

She adds: “We’re seeing now that organised transphobia is basically fascism… it’s not a valid position to be taking.”

Keir Starmer makes his keynote speech for the first time as party leader during the Labour Conference last week.(Getty/Dan Kitwood)

Kennedy points out that there are glaring problems with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) that the next Labour government will have to sort out. She questions why there’s never been a trans commissioner.

“Labour needs to change that and also ensure that it’s properly independent,” she says.

It’s not all about LGBTQ+ rights either – Kennedy would also like to see Labour focusing on strengthening the trade union movement. She thinks doing so would help them win the next election.

If Labour thinks long and hard about its priorities, and works to rebuild trust with LGBTQ+ people, Kennedy believes they will win the next election.

“Liz Truss has just gifted him the next election and she’s only been in office a few weeks,” she says.

“I think he will win – and I think he could probably be less cautious… I’d like for him to push things like proportional representation and better media representation.”

People want ‘a good standard of living’

Nadia Whittome, a Labour MP for Nottingham East, tells PinkNews that Labour must provide solutions to the “material issues” people are facing in the UK today if they want to make sure they’ll beat the Tories at the next election.

“We all want a secure home, a decent wage, and a good standard of living. We all want to be treated with fairness, respect and dignity,” Whittome says.

“We need to be clear about who the culprits of the cost of living crisis, the lack of housing and the collapse in the NHS are not minority groups, but a government that has failed to invest in public services and the super-rich that are squeezing us to make obscene profits.”

Whittome believes one of the best ways Labour can ensure victory at the next election is to focus on improving people’s quality of life right across the board.

“Our problems are shared and the solutions can benefit us all, that’s why I believe our party should make a Green New Deal, which brings investment and jobs to every corner of our country, while transitioning away from fossil fuels and bringing down people’s bills, the centrepiece of our next manifesto.”

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Labour peer Michael Cashman says the party must show the electorate that they can offer better conditions in the UK than the Conservatives have offered in recent years.

That shouldn’t be too hard, given the Tories’ track record, he says. When Truss won the leadership race, Cashman realised her government would be “desperate” and that it would “stoke up” culture wars to win support.

He believes Labour must focus on protecting and advancing LGBTQ+ rights if they want to get back into government.

“Our rights are only as strong as the rights of the weakest in our community,” he tells PinkNews. “Defend the other because if we don’t, ultimately they will come for us, and that’s my fear about this Truss government. It’s a continuation of the Johnson government.”