Labour has lost many working class voters – Carwyn Jonespublished at 08:31 BST
08:31 BST
Image source, PA Media/Ben Birchall
Labour has put itself in a position where it is “no longer seen as the party of the working people”, believes Carwyn Jones.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s overnight election coverage, the former first minister said: “We need to be far more radical, we need to be far more confident in the message that we’re getting across.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position where we’re no longer seen as the party of the working people.”
Jones, who was Labour first minister from 2009 to 2018, added: “It’s quite clear that a chunk of working class voters are not with us at the moment.”
Asked on BBC Radio Wales Breakfast early on Friday whether he backed calls for Sir Keir Starmer to stand down, he said: “I would caution people against thinking that
simply changing a leader in London is the panacea, is the be-all and end-all.
“I don’t think it’s simply a question of ‘if Keir Starmer goes everything willl be fine’. It’s not that easy.”
He added, however, that the message had to be more optimistic in Westminster and that a sense of direction was missing at the moment.