Labour needs more than voters’ anger with Tories failures to win

Conservative supporters disillusioned with the lack of a Brexit dividend are unclear what Labour stands for, and the radical right is rising

• Read more: Brexit failures are hauting Tories

Three years ago, Boris Johnson assembled a unique big tent coalition, delivering the Conservatives a once in a generation majority. That coalition is no more. Current polling points to a 17-point Conservative to Labour swing, far larger than Tony Blair achieved in 1997, with roughly half of 2019 Tory voters now backing someone else. Rejection of the Conservatives spans the length and breadth of the country, from the red wall to the blue wall, among Remain voters and among Brexiters.

The Brexit coalition has collapsed because the forces holding it together – frustration over Brexit and fear of a Corbyn-led government – have dissipated and nothing has replaced them. Johnson fulfilled his Brexit pledges early, passing his “oven-ready” deal in the first months of the government, and following it with a trade agreement within a year. Those early successes have left a growing void. “Getting Brexit done” was supposed to change things for the better. Even the most ardent Brexiters now find the reality disappointing. Half of Leave voters say the government has handled the issue badly, while a record one in five Brexiters now think the decision to depart was a mistake.