Analysis Advisers note lessons to be learned from Harris's defeat

There is a tough lesson that senior Labour advisers want some of their internal party critics to learn from the Democrats' disastrous defeat.

- Jessica Elgot

Optimism is not the answer they think it is.

When Kamala Harris's campaign had the most momentum, the core of it was joy. And although the final weeks were dominated by darker warnings of fascism under Donald Trump, Harris returned to the theme of optimism in her final messages, saying they had "brought back the joy".

Senior Labour insiders are privately scathing about those tactics. "The final days were a parade of celebrities in the middle of a cost of living crisis," said one. Another described the Democrats as "running on vibes rather than an argument".