The result of the 2015 election was deeply disappointing to many who hoped to see an end of the austerity and division brought in by the last government. What went wrong? Of course many are asking that question and there is no simple answer. Some would say that Labour had drifted too far to the left and that is certainly how the media portrayed the situation. That argument hardly seems credible though. The people of Scotland rejected Labour and opted for a party that was (on the face of it at least) far more radical. The SNP were clearly an anti-austerity party and that must have been a key factor. Would the Scots really go for a more ‘moderate’ Labour Party. I don’t think so.

Ed Miliband should not be vilified but the leadership of the party, and their advisors, made big mistakes. The press from day one of the past government blamed Labour for the economic problems the country was facing. Hardly any economists believed this but incredibly Labour never convincingly argued against it. Maybe Ed Balls and co agreed with the media and that what was really needed was more austerity and this would have been a fear to many in Scotland. This coupled with the fear that the press stirred up about the power of the SNP led many in England also to abandon Labour. If the party had presented tangible and achievable policies, rather than bland aspirations, this would have helped to alleviate this.

What next? While the leadership of the party refused to contemplate deals with the SNP to form a government the situation is now very different. There has to be discussions and even an alliance between the Labour, the SNP, the SDLP, the Greens, Plaid Cymru, and the Liberal Democrats in Parliament. Such a coalition would be attractive to many but it would need to be genuinely progressive. Attempts to move Labour back to being a Blairite party would be disaster and none of the other parties would support it. Choosing the right leader for Labour is of course crucial and Andy Burnham would be the choice of many. What about the leader of the Liberal Democrats? This is not an irrelevant question because they will rebuild locally and in the West of England they will be the main alternatives to the Tories next time. The obvious choice of someone who could succeed would be Tim Farron.

All is not lost. The next five years will see dreadful cuts to public services, increased privatisation in the NHS, limits to welfare payments, and a destructive in-out debate about Europe. This has to galvanise effective opposition in preparation for a progressive coalition government in 2020.