Election Blues: Why Labour lost, what it is for and how it can win again, a one day conference held at the House of Lords, has been extensively covered in the media. 
The conference, organised by Senior Lecturer Dr Adrian Pabst, took place on June 25th as part of his University of Kent faculty grant and sought to discuss where Labour went wrong in the recent General Election.
The conference was attended by a number of politicians involved in the Blue Labour group, with panels led by MP Jon Cruddas and Labour peer Maurice Glassman and was well received by those who attended from the media.
Patrick Wintour of the Guardian covered Jon Cruddas’ speech at the conference, which looked at how Labour should “avoid the ‘dead zone’, embrace policies for the common good and examine the path the party should take”; while Rod Liddle also commented on the conference in his weekly video for the Sunday Times Website.
Dr Pabst noted:
“By bringing together senior politicians, leading academics and influential analyst, the seminar generated a lively debated and offered new insights on why Labour lost. There was a strong sense that the Blue Labour group around Jon Cruddas MP and Lord Maurice Glasman can build on the recent essay collection to make a significant contribution to the renewal of the party.”
Election Blues was also mentioned by MP Chuka Umunna in his Guardian piece on Labour’s problematic economic credibility, where he explores public concern that Labour may not have been able to provide a competent government, as a factor in their election defeat.
More information on Blue Labour can be found in Dr Pabst’s recently published book ‘Blue Labour: Forging a New Politics’ or on the Blue Labour website.