Alexander submits election report

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Labour's general election co-ordinator has told the party's conference that they lost large amounts of votes in 'heartland' seats in May.

Douglas Alexander, who was international development secretary before the election, told the Labour conference in Manchester that their vote was down 14 per cent in south Yorkshire.

In Mid Glamorgan the vote was down 16 per cent, and it was also hit hard in Kent, seaside and 'corridor' towns and industrial centres such as Derby and Staffordshire.

Alexander told the conference that Labour lost 91 seats at the election, with a 6.5 per cent swing against the party.

There were wide regional variations, with London and Scotland performing better.

He said that in Scotland there is "cultural antipathy" towards the Tories, and in the capital there was a boost in the ethnic minority vote.

However, in the three southern England regions Labour now has just 10 MPs out of 197.

Alexander said the party had one third of the paid staff it did in 2005 and half the number of party members as 1997 and were outspent three to one by the Tories.

He told delegates that "incumbency matters" and the party fared two per cent better better on average where an MP was defending a seat as opposed one being fought by a new candidate.

There is also a "clear and strong correlation" with local election results. He urged Labour to make the most of the 183 days until the Scottish, Welsh and English council elections next May.

NEC member Harriet Yeo reported that Labour has gained 45,000 members since the start of the year, 35,000 since the election and more than 720 since Ed Miliband was elected last night.

She also claimed there is "a deluge" of Lib Dem councillors defecting to Labour.

Jude Robinson, former PPC for Camborne and Redruth, said the party gave the appearance it did not care about the south west during the election and the knock-on effect allowed the Lib Dems to boost their vote in the region.

She said she was delighted Ed Miliband came to Cornwall in August to hear the concerns of local party.

She wants the centre to listen more, target resources and create a better key seat strategy.

Emily Benn, 20, Labour's youngest PPC in the 2010 election, said her team fought a valiant campaign.

She paid tribute to her grandfather's commitment to the party.

Benn said the next Labour government would have to do more to improve schools, hospitals and housing and create "fair and secure jobs and economic growth".

Jane Darke from Oxford East had a simple message – do not forget women voters.

Tom Blenkinsop, MP for Middlesbrough South, said he learnt a key lesson from a former MP, the late Ashok Kumar – there is no substitute for organisation.

He said the party must retain its empathy with and understanding of working people and their communities and said his constituents are among the most vulnerable in the country to the coalition government's public spending cuts.