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Dan Hannan accused socialists and left-leaning parties of losing sight of how the modern world is developing as they cling onto plummeting traditional labour union membership. The Conservative MEP said the left has failed to realise the next generation are unlikely to ever have "a job" in the traditional sense of the word as they will "do different things at different times, freelancing and re-skilling to meet demand". The Eurosceptic politician also said those stumped by why Donald Trump won in America should concentrate on why Hillary Clinton lost.

Getty Dan Hannan said socialism is failing because politicians cannot see the bigger picture

But something is going on with the Left that is deeper than the recent downturn Dan Hannan

He highlighted how seven of the eight British Labour Party leaders in the past 40 years have failed to win a general election, with the only exception being Tony Blair who he described as a "disguised conservative". Current Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is facing a crisis as support for his leadership was brought into question yet again over the weekend after it was revealed Labour was lining up potential replacements to oust him.

Getty Socialists have always been linked to Labour unions

In Europe, centre-Left parties have been hit with serious losses, with the previously popular French Socialists dipping to fourth place, the Dutch Labour Party plunging to seventh and Greece's PASOK party, which has led the country since the early 1980s, only having seven per cent of the population's support. The PSOE party in Spain and Social Democrats in former communist countries in eastern Europe are doing even worse, he said.

Mr Hannan said the losses could be easily blamed on centre-Left established parties supporting the euro in the 1990s which then brought poverty and tax increases, however the real reason is the Left has lost sight of how the modern world works. Writing in the Washington Examiner, the senior member of the Vote Leave campaign said: "But a collapse on such a scale doesn't happen overnight. "The parties aligned to the Party of European Socialists - the main Centre-Left bloc in Europe - dominated Europe in the 1990s and, as late as 2004, were still more likely to be in office than not.

Jeremy Corbyn wins Labour leadership election Sat, September 24, 2016 Jeremy Corbyn has won the Labour leadership race against rival Owen Smith in the election contest that lasted three months. Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 12 Jeremy Corbyn MP (R) hugs Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell after being announced as the leader of the Labour Party on the eve of the party's annual conference at the ACC on September 24, 2016

"But something is going on that is deeper than the recent downturn. "That something has to do with changes in how we live and work. "The parties of the mainstream Left were, in most cases, closely tied to labour unions.

Getty Francois Hollande's French Socialist Party has seen a dip in popularity

Getty Mr Hannan said people should be questioning why Clinton lost not why Trump won

"Membership of those unions, especially those representing private sector workers, is falling in every industrialised country. "That fall reflects a shift from mass industrialisation to self-employment. "As technology accelerates, we are likelier to become portmanteau workers, specialists who constantly renew our expertise." Moving over the Atlantic to the United States, he said the question which should be asked is why the Democrats lost when Mr Trump secured fewer votes than either John McCain or Mitt Romney.