Social cohesion is a broad topic, yet one of fundamental importance for the Labour Party to confront. While other factors such as economic credibility and political leadership are important issues to address in order to win the 2020 general election, the Labour Party is required to ease the concerns of a number of British voters and convince them that the Labour Party is ‘on their side’. ‘Mistrust about our instincts and values on identity and culture-related issues’ wrote Ivan Lewis MP in 2011, ‘is one of the key reasons why voters have rejected social democratic parties across Europe. In an age of austerity that suspicion will remain unless we are willing to break free from outdated comfort zones.’ Defeat in 2015 highlights that mistrust continues to exist. It is the opinion of the author that two major issues will pose considerable challenges to the Labour Party over the course of this Parliament; immigration and the rise of Englishness.

Anecdotally, a recurring theme on the doorstep in 2015 was the message that ‘Labour doesn’t stand for people like me anymore.’ Instead, the Labour Party allegedly stood for foreigners, migrants and welfare claimants. Statistically, the opinion polls highlight that immigration has become increasingly salient over the past decade, and it is clear that voters regard this matter as a high priority. The issue is not a simple left–right split, in which you can easily fit voters into one of two camps. The Labour Party contains a cultural split predominantly based on social class, in which the middle-class social liberals – generally at the top of the Party – emphasise the economic and pluralistic benefits of immigration whereas working-class Labour voters tend to be more socially conservative, concerned about the pace of change in their community, and the impact on British and arguably more specifically English culture and identity.

The rise of Englishness and an English political culture poses an equally significant problem for the Labour Party. Traditionally class-based issues were synthesised with Britishness, with grievances redressed across Great Britain through reforms enacted at Westminster. However, post-devolution and with the rise of Scottish and, to a much lesser extent, Welsh nationalism there has been a growing realisation that Britishness – a bond built upon Empire, military, the Protestant faith, industry and trade union membership, binding all the home nations together has weakened, thus bringing into question the future of the United Kingdom.