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A top Labour Minister has issued a stark warning about the 2020 election threat the party faces from UKIP.

Dan Jarvis admits there are “are no quick fixes or silver bullet solutions for stemming the rising tide” of Nigel Farage’s anti-EU party.

And he urges Labour to tackle UKIP head on if it is to have any chance of winning in five years.

“Labour cannot ignore this issue any longer,” he admits.

Tough ex-Paratrooper Mr Jarvis has drawn up a report - seen by the Mirror - in a bid to win back Labour supporters who turned to UKIP.

He toured the country visiting constituencies where Mr Farage’s party cost Ed Miliband vital votes.

(Image: Evening Gazette / Ian McIntyre)

“Labour has been in denial for too long about the challenges posed by UKIP,” his report says.

“Many people have turned to UKIP due to long-held frustrations with Labour and the wider political establishment. There is little evidence to suggest they will return swiftly or easily.

“The challenge ahead for Labour is to build an effective response based on listening and genuine engagement, rooted in the realities facing these communities.”

The Shadow Justice Minister warns against trying to “out-UKIP UKIP” or “lurching to the left”.

Instead, he wants MPs and activists to appeal to those “who have lost faith in us”, “extend opportunity to communities that feel forgotten” and “reclaim our mantle as a patriotic party”.

His report adds: “Neither UKIP nor the complex reasons behind the explosion in its support are going to disappear.

(Image: Getty)

“Where Nigel Farage and his party have taken advantage of people’s anger, Labour must now show that we can provide answers.”

Mr Jarvis’ Reconnecting Labour report will be handed to the party’s Learning the Lessons Task Force, which is carrying out a post-mortem into May’s election disaster.

It comes two weeks before the party’s new leader is announced. Mr Jarvis is backing Andy Burnham, who asked him to carry out the research.

Whoever wins has a hard fight to reclaim voters from UKIP, says the ex-Special Forces soldier.

He found that UKIP challenged Labour “in our traditional heartlands”, with 63 of the 100 seats where UKIP made their greatest inroads in Labour constituencies.

He also discovered that Labour’s “path to victory was blocked in many marginal battlegrounds”.

“There was a UKIP swing of 10% or greater in more than a third of the 106 key marginals that Labour was targeting in order to form a government,” his report states.

(Image: John Alevroyiannis / Daily Mirror)

And Labour “is at risk of southern retreat ... eroding our foothold in seats we used to hold and would need to regain to win a majority”.

The report adds: “Winning again won’t be easy, but the bottom line is straightforward. Nigel Farage has made good on his promise to park UKIP’s tanks on Labour’s lawn.

"Our response now as a Labour Party should be simple. Bring it on.”

Mr Burnham said: “His initial findings make tough reading, but it’s vital that Labour pays attention.

“We’ve got to show these voters that we can make their lives better with big, bold policy ideas.

“We’ve got to win back their trust on the economy and immigration, and we’ve got to provide better opportunities for those who feel forgotten."