Letters: democracy is at risk, as well as Labour | Observer letters

The party must choose wisely in its leadership election, for the sake of itself and the country

It does not need a committee to determine the reasons for Labour’s election defeat: a divided party, an unpopular leader too sympathetic to leftwing autocrats, dithering over Brexit, failure to deal with the charge of antisemitism, an ill-thought-out manifesto. The list goes on (“Defeated MPs call for ‘unflinching’ Labour review”, News).

The need is for action and I fear diagnosis will be a comforting substitute for doing something. Doing something will be up to the next leader. He or she must be personable, intelligent, articulate, diligent, pragmatic and a master of detail. Their primary job will be to oppose a populist government. Labour needs to develop plans to deal with the perennial problems: housing, transport, the NHS, care for the old, drugs. Then there are more recent and more intractable problems: climate crisis, automation, globalisation, fake news and internet intrusion.

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from Children | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2QLONnh