Labour needs a leader who will win 124 more seats in 2024 – twice the number we lost in 2019. It’ll be a challenge, but a doable one at that.

To ensure that we emerge victorious next time, we must follow some crucial steps, including: ensuring that the failure of Brexit is owned by the Tories; providing a credible economic growth plan rooted in green technologies; and winning seats across all our nations and regions.

Boris Johnson got the Brexit election he craved – he knew it would unite the Brexit vote and divide the Remain parties. The Euro Election results had proven that Labour voters who wanted Brexit would vote Tory and those who wanted Remain would splinter. In this election, 13.9 million voted for Johnson’s "oven-ready" Leave deal versus 16.5 million for public vote or Remain parties, yet Leave MPs now have a majority of 80 with 365 Tory seats.

So, 2019 was a vote for a Tory government but not a vote for Brexit. Labour MPs have no duty to accept Tory policies, less still the hard-right Brexit project. The simple truth is Brexit will make Britain fundamentally poorer, weaker and more divided and Labour should have been saying that since 2016. Instead, people have been left with the false belief that Britain after Brexit will be much the same, that the key issue is "to get Brexit done" and that this will be successfully completed this year. None of this is true.

The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Show all 8 1 / 8 The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Keir Starmer The former director of public prosecutions undoubtedly has announced that he is standing for the leadership. He is highly-regarded by both left-wingers and centrists in the party. As Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, he played a key role in the party’s eventual backing of a second referendum. Before becoming an MP, he was a human rights lawyer - conducting cases in international courts including the European Court of Human Rights. Launching his bid, Starmer said that Labour must listen to the public on how to change "restore trust in our party as a force for good." A YouGov poll places him comfortably in the lead as the preferred candidate of 36% of party members EPA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Lisa Nandy Wigan MP Lisa Nandy has announced she wil stand for the leadership. In a letter to the Wigan Post she said she wanted to bring Labour "home" to voters in its traditional strongholds who have abandoned the party. Nandy went on to say that she understands "that we have one chance to win back the trust of people in Wigan, Workington and Wrexham." A YouGov poll shows that Nandy is the first preference for 6% of partymembers. Getty The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Rebecca Long Bailey A key ally of the current left-wing leadership of the party, the Salford & Eccles MP is viewed in some quarters as the natural successor to Mr Corbyn and describes herself as a “proud socialist”. Highly regarded by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell. She won also won plaudits for her performance filling in for Corbyn both at prime minister’s questions and during the general election debates. The shadow business secretary grew up by Old Trafford football ground and began her working life serving at the counter of a pawn shop. Launching her leadership bid, Long Bailey said the party needs to make the positive case for immigration as a "positive force." She also broke with Corbyn over Trident, saying "If you have a deterrent you have to be prepared to use it." PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Angela Rayner - Deputy leadership Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner has joined the contest for deputy leadership of the party. After ruling herself out of running for the leadership, the Ashton-under-Lynne MP launched her bid for deputy warning that Labour faces the "biggest challenge" in its history and must "win or die." She is close with leadership contender Rebecca Long Bailey PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Rosena Allin-Khan - Deputy leadership Shadow sport minister Rosena Allin-Khan said Labour need to listen with "humility" to lost voters as she launched her bid for the deputy leadership. Writing in The Independent, the MP for Tooting refelcted: "We shouldn’t have ignored the warning signs in Scotland, and now we’ve paid the price in northern England, across the midlands and in Wales." PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Dawn Butler - Deputy leadership Shadow women and equalities secretary Dawn Butler was first to announce her bid for the deputy leadership. The Brent Central MP has served in Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet since 2016 PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Ian Murray - Deputy leadership Labour's only MP in Scotland said that the architects of the party's "catastrophic failure" in the December election can not be allowed to lead the party forward PA The battle to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader Richard Burgon - Deputy leadership Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon is standing as a continuity candidate, flaunting his loyalty to Jeremy Corbyn and saying it is wrong to blame the current leader for the election defeat PA

No doubt everyone now wants to “move on from Brexit” but crucially Labour must ensure the Tories take ownership and responsibility for Brexit, including the economic slowdown, social division and international impotence it will bring. We must fight for the best deal with the EU and map out our place in the world outside the EU. But as 2024 approaches, we must be ready to make the case for members of the bloc where the majority of voters would like to live.

The electorate needs a credible Labour government who will manage the economy competently and provide a costed programme of green economic growth. Put simply, people want a credible Labour government to deliver a reliable NHS, decent schools, sustainable jobs and affordable homes.

Other than taxing corporations and the rich, we need credible sources of investment to turn our economy green. For instance, we could save £3bn a year through a clean air act, which in turn could provide revenue to pay for £100bn of green capital investment, or a tax on virgin plastic to invest in electric and hydrogen vehicle exports.

Labour must create wealth, not just redistribute it, and our hard-earned economic record of growing the economy by 40 per cent in 10 years to double investment in our NHS and education, must be retold to create confidence.

Brexit is creating the “Divided Kingdom”, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU and the Welsh government and electorate hold the same position. The Tories will refuse another Scottish independence referendum and, in contravention of the Good Friday Agreement, will resist an Ireland reunification ballot. Labour must win back its seats in Scotland, Wales and England, fighting against the causes of the rise of separatism, which means a radical and believable programme that brings renewed alignment with the EU.

Our fundamental values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law will be under direct threat once the UK is outside the protection of the European Court of Justice. The civil service, the BBC and the judiciary are first in line for subjugation. Dominic Cummings is bringing the civil service to heel, the BBC’s political compliance means it has fewer friends, while the Supreme Court will have its wings clipped for upholding parliamentary democracy. As the institutions that uphold our values are undermined, Johnson is busy redrawing the constituency boundaries, introducing voter identification and abolishing the fixed term parliament act to consolidate his grip on power.

A Labour Party victory at the next election is now more important than ever. Only by winning can we provide opportunity in place of growing poverty. Only by winning can we protect our fundamental values and silence the drumbeat of right-wing authoritarianism that grows louder every day.