LABOUR has suffered a disastrous defeat at the General Election, one that will take some time for the party to recover from.

The party led its election campaign based on social justice. A campaign to end the cuts and inequalities that we have experienced in our society under the Conservative-led coalition government.

It aimed to help those left at the bottom of the pile. It campaigned to end the unfair 'bedroom tax', it offered a better deal for those in private renting, an end to zero hours contracts and promised to make tax avoiders pay their fair share to contribute to society.

This vision was in no way extremist or 'Marxist' as portrayed by tabloid media but was, in fact,  in keeping with the traditional values of the Labour Party, a party that has represented and helped generations of working class people throughout the country, especially in this ex-mining community of the Forest Of Dean.

Ed Milliband went to the country to ask Britain if it wanted a fairer society.

Unfortunately the overwhelming answer from voters seemed to be 'no' and a Tory majority government has been voted in.

It seems a selfish option to many but democracy has spoken and rather than play the blame game, the Labour Party needs to reorganize itself and stay strong.

While the party needs to extend and appeal to businesses and other sections of society in order to survive it must still keep true to its original values and the core voters that it was created for.

An effective opposition is needed both at national and local level as there will be many tough challenges ahead in the next five years.

– Voter, Mitcheldean.