Labour are spinning that their vote held up and even increased by 0.8% – in reality they lost 7,000 votes and UKIP gained nearly 10,000 (up 36%) making the seat an ultra-marginal for Labour. John Mann is voicing the fears of many Labour MPs about metropolitan Miliband’s wonkish Labour:
The real issue is why so many Labour voters are not bothering to vote. The mantra of 'must work harder' is not sufficient.
— John Mann (@JohnMannMP) October 10, 2014
Ed Miliband does a lot of listening. Now he needs to do a bit more hearing.
— John Mann (@JohnMannMP) October 10, 2014
Even loyalists like LabourList’s Mark Ferguson are cutting through the spin:
MPs tweeting Labour’s vote held up. It went up by 1% on 2010 in H&M. In Clacton it was halved. 2010 was bad remember? http://t.co/sXo0vAklmA
— Mark Ferguson (@Markfergusonuk) October 10, 2014
The Tories had psychologically priced in defeat in Clacton, Labour are in shock…
