Abstract
This chapter centres on Labour’s period of opposition from 2010. Unlike other chapters, it ends prior to the resolution of Labour’s electability crisis (defined here as Labour returning to government). It explores how the party assessed the New Labour project and interpreted its legacy following election defeats in 2010 and 2015. It explores how changing methods of electing Labour leaders tested the relationships between the party and its constituent elements. The tensions within the party were also highlighted during the Brexit referendum and negotiation period, which raised questions about the nature of parliamentary democracy. Labour had been a pro-EU party from the mid-1980s, but many Labour MPs now represented seats with a majority of Leave voters. Having lost economic credibility following the 2007/08 global financial crisis, Labour risked being presented as anti-democratic in the wake of the referendum and Brexit negotiations.
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