Might not the danger of Ukip be different to that posed in your leader (Nigel Farage’s resignation shows he is not serious, 5 July)? Ukip has acted as a basket for discontented Tory voters – just as the Liberals have done since Orpington. And, since Orpington, most of those voters returned to the Tory ranks at a subsequent election. Not so with Labour voters. Ukip’s deadly threat has always been to Labour.
Almost 150,000 former Labour voters crossed over to Ukip at the 2010 election. Five years later, at the 2015 election, this number had increased to nearly a million. Given the large number of Ukip votes that come from people who had given up voting, that leaves Ukip’s base being made up of 24% of voters who had previously supported Labour candidates. This shift has positioned Ukip as the runner-up to Labour in 44 constituencies. Moreover, most Labour MPs now represent constituencies that voted leave in the EU referendum.
While Labour tries to re-establish class politics, Ukip has moved on. The politics of national identity, a sense of place and community, the position of England and its culture, are now going to increasingly determine party loyalties. Post-referendum politics will speed up this process as our negotiating team will be involved in constructing defences for poorer voters against globalisation. Where is the voice of the Labour party in helping shape events that will determine the basis of a new party system in our democracy? The sooner we move to having a leader of the parliamentary party to take us into elections, and a leader of our activists in the country, the better.
Frank Field MP
Labour, Birkhenhead
• Jeremy Corbyn’s video appeal to members emphasises his successful record as leader, in achieving Tory U-turns on tax credits and forced academisation of schools, and in attracting many more party members (Watson to seek union support for ‘last roll of dice’ appeal to Corbyn, 5 July). Those are real achievements, but their significance is dwarfed by the impending catastrophe of Brexit. It is becoming clear that the best (albeit slim) chance of averting such a disaster would be a general election fought by Labour, the Lib Dems and the SNP on a remain ticket. So at this pivotal moment in our country’s history, the only question for members of the Labour party should be this: is the current party leader capable of successfully leading such a campaign? If he isn’t, he needs to be replaced by someone who can. The future of the United Kingdom is more important than the future of any one individual or party.
David Hoult
Stockport
• With a staggering lack of self-perception, Chuka Umunna MP, describes Momentum as “a party within a party” (Report, 5 July). If there is a group within the Labour party which is acting, yet again, as “a party within a party” it is the parliamentary Labour party. This is what this row is all about.
Andrew McCulloch
Collingham, Nottinghamshire
