The north has changed. To win it back, Labour must recognise that | Alex Niven

Grassroots activism alone won’t address the party’s problems. It needs to commit to devolving power to the region

There is no getting away from the fact that Labour suffered a northern rout last Thursday. Big urban centres such as Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle remain Labour strongholds – as, more precariously, do smaller cities such as Sunderland, Hull and Bradford. But they are now isolated islands in a sea of Tory blue.

Related: This Labour meltdown has been building for decades | Aditya Chakrabortty

Continue reading...