Siobhain McDonagh MP

The Tories called it wrong on all the big necessities of a 21st century campaign, finds Siobhain McDonagh Why did the Tories lose? Indeed, did they? Certainly against expectation. In reality, they still got the most votes and most seats. So how has the outcome of the election been Labour euphoria and Tory despair? Hope and change always beat experience. People expect competence from politicians. But they want them to offer a better future.

The 418 Labour MPs elected in 1997 kicked out a Tory government. The 101 of us who were women also transformed our politics. Until that election, parliament had been a largely male preserve and that distorted public policy. We had a welfare state based on male living and working patterns, while many children and pensioners, especially women, were living in poverty.