Ed Miliband
Ed Miliband resigned as Labour leader after his party lost 26 seats and saw the Tories win a majority at the general election Getty

Labour's internal report into why the party lost the general election to the Conservatives reportedly dismisses the idea that Ed Miliband's policies were too left-wing. The probe, led by former minister Margaret Beckett, apparently found that some of Labour's left-wing manifesto policies "were the most popular" among the electorate.

The so-called Mansion Tax, a proposed levy on properties worth more than £2m ($2.8m), is reportedly cited in the internal probe as a popular policy. Instead, the paper lays blame on the party's communications efforts, according to the BBC.

A leaked version of the document said: "Some of the 'left-wing policies' were the most popular" (eg mansions tax) and "individual policies polled well – the issue was the lack of a consistent, cohesive narrative."

The report will be good news for current Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has come under fire for his left-wing policies such as his anti-austerity stance.

But Beckett's report apparently warns that Miliband, who looked take his party away from Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, should have defended New Labour's achievements in government more. "We should be proud of our record of major social change," the document apparently reads.

A Labour spokesman told IBTimes UK: "The formal process of considering the Learning the Lessons report is in its final stages and will conclude next week when it is presented to the relevant committee of the National Executive Committee. The Labour Party will then make the report public."

BBC claims the report lists four reasons for Labour's loss

  • Failure to shake off the myth that we (ie Labour) were responsible for the financial crash and failure to build trust in the economy
  • Inability to deal with issues of "connection" in particular failure to communicate on benefits and immigration
  • Ed Miliband was judged not be as strong a leader as David Cameron
  • Fear of the SNP propping up a minority Labour government