Jeremy Corbyn, Bernie Sanders and the new 'Blue Wall'

Here's a very interesting piece published in the Guardian on Monday about former 'red wall' voters' opinions on taxing the rich.

According to research by Tax Justice UK and Survation, former Labour voters in Blyth, Wrexham and Bury North aren't interested in the slightest by soak-the-rich rhetoric – preferring instead to focus on specific policy prescriptions, such as the closure of tax loopholes and bringing capital gains tax in line with income taxes.

This goes some way to validating my suspicions that the language of radicalism has very little appeal towards the voters Labour lost in last year's general election. For better or worse, British voters by and large tend to have positive attitudes towards the very wealthy, and Labour's attempts to force a political realignment on the basis of class last year had nowhere near the same level of success Bernie Sanders has had in the US doing much the same thing.

I wonder how much of that has to do with the people spearheading both movements, mind. Corbyn is roundly despised by the British electorate, regardless of why that may be. On the other hand, Sanders is comparatively very popular. There's no doubt in my mind that Sanders has a charisma and quality Corbyn has never managed to muster. In addition, he simply hasn't got the baggage Corbyn came with, having associated with questionable individuals on a number of occasions throughout his career.

But there are certainly material and cultural elements explaining the divide between Sanders' and Corbyn's political fortunes, as well. Despite chronic underfunding and neglect, Britain does have universal healthcare free at the point of use. The US, on the other hand, does not. Just as well, despite a decade of grinding austerity measures, the UK has a welfare system leaps and bounds more generous than that of our transatlantic cousins. Could Sanders' appeal be down to the fact the US is in a more advanced stage of crisis than we are? Perhaps. But when you consider the fact children in Morecambe are so hungry right now they're eating from bins, things look very bad here all the same.

In the end, then, maybe it really is that Corbyn was just so unlikable. His supporters still insist Brexit was the main issue – and to be sure it was a major issue. But I can't help thinking Labour's Brexit policy could've gone down a lot better if it were someone else making the sale. The left cannot go on thinking the strength of its ideas alone will carry it to victory. Optics matter, and denying that will only bring further disappointment and despair.

With Brexit ostensibly out of the way, we'll soon see how strong the Tories' new 'blue wall' is. Voters in these seats have high expectations for investment, some looking for improvements in a matter of weeks. Rishi Sunak will be under a lot of pressure to woo blue workers in next month's budget – and if he fails, Labour's pick for the leadership will become significantly more important.