DAVID CAMERON claimed a majority because Labour shipped too many supporters to anti-austerity parties, Labour Euro MP Lucy Anderson claims today. 

Far from being seen as too-left wing, Ms Anderson argues Labour lost crucial marginal seats because “we weren’t left-wing enough.” 

The London Euro MP’s comments are based on an analysis of election results for the Morning Star. It shows that in 11 marginals that Labour lost to the Tories, the Green vote was bigger than the Tory candidate’s majority. That includes Morley and Outwood, where the Greens polled 1,264 and then shadow chancellor Ed Balls lost by 422. 

A Green vote of 3,187 in Brighton Kemptown also helped oust popular Labour left figure Nancy Platts, who was 690 short of victory. In eight more seats, the numbers of votes for the Greens and other anti-austerity parties, such as Plaid Cymru or Tusc, were more than Labour lost by. 

If Labour had won 12 of those seats, it would have been enough to deny the Tories a majority. Ms Anderson does not suggest that the Greens put the Tories in power.

But, hitting back at Blairite claims, the MEP insists the results show that Labour “didn’t lose simply because our polices were too left-wing.”

She told the Star: “Since our election defeat, some people have been challenging that link and saying Ed Miliband was too left-wing. “On my initial reading of the results, however, I think there is an argument that we weren’t left-wing enough.

“We lost at least 18 seats because of votes going to Tusc and the Greens.”

If the swing to the Greens and alternative left parties continues at the same rate, Labour will lose Bristol West to the Greens in 2020, as well as Edinburgh South, the only seat it holds in Scotland. The Star’s analysis also shows Labour will lose seven seats in which it has a majority of less than a 1,000 to the Tories. 

A Green Party spokesperson said: “At this election over 1.1 million people voted Green, many of them seeking an alternative to the austerity on offer from the Establishment parties. This data shows how a huge portion of the electorate have been rendered voiceless. 

“If we had a proportional electoral system, the votes the Green Party received would have translated into a strong group of 24 MPs fighting austerity in Parliament.”