Much has been written about the four and a half years of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party, but far less in-depth analysis has appeared on the tumultuous events since. This fast-paced and highly readable account considers the reasons behind Labour’s 2019 defeat, from longer term factors like the international decline of social democracy and the loss of long-held Labour seats in the post-industrial ‘red wall’, to more immediate issues such as the leadership of Corbyn, the role played by Brexit, and Labour’s policies and campaign.

Mike Phipps, a widely regarded and skilled Labour Party commentator, chronicles the main events in the Party since 2019: the election of Keir Starmer as leader, the loss of the left’s focus and its growing disillusionment with the new leadership. Key turning points in Starmer’s tenure are discussed– the sacking of his rival leadership contender, Rebecca Long-Bailey, his abstention on government legislation which undermined civil liberties, his withdrawal of the parliamentary whip from his predecessor, and his growing intolerance of dissent within the Party.

Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow also sets out what the left needs to do to regain its sense of purpose: recognizing the advances that have been made in shaping policy agenda and intervening more confidently on the essential values of the Party. It assesses the position of Labour’s left in local government, in the internal structures of the Party and in the affiliated unions, and sets out a strategy for the left to maximise its impact and rediscover its relevance.