[joeysteele]

I do not think Labour is finished just as in any way I could believe the Conservatives are likely to ever be either.
I include the Lib Dems there too, they will come back gradually.

I really believe myself that labour will need a new leader to get wider attention again,its base is still there in Scotland, despite the horrendous recent election results.
Once the SNP start to fail then there is only one place for the bulk of their disgruntled voters to go,back to Labour.

I think it is more wishful thinking to state that Labour is finished,however having said that,will it ever get back to really being the party it was and what it stood for pre the 1970s,that is a harder question to answer.
As much as will the Conservatives party get back to being a Party with a conscience,looking at future leadership candidates there,I doubt that.

However I repeat,until there is a change in the electoral system, the 2 main parties will still hold onto to enough votes of around 60% to 65% between them which will mean depending on how the arithmetic works out,one or the other will either scrape a narrow overall majority or be the lead in any coalitions.

Labour however is not finished and will be the lead in govt again and oddly enough if it was to tap into the mood for a more representative electoral system,it could even become the party that leads govt far more than it ever has before,due to the anti Conservative elements of near all other Parties seeking election to Westminster.

For as long as the media dictates policy and what politicians should be doing and saying,then no change of great note will come from either of the main parties.
Many Conservatives hate and know it to be wrong what has been done to the sick and disabled by their govt,yet they vote for it.
Labour does need a big shake too, to realise they need to talk to more of the people who stuck by them in the really bad years, the last time it was thought Labour was finished but in truth was nowhere near being so.

Also however,not to listen to those of the former Cabinet,like Tristram Hunt, who helped lose the last election but to reject this politics run by media scenario and get back to talking to the people.
Not just supporters but those who vote for other parties too.

There is a lot to go for and a lot to gain again for Labour,it has the people and resources to do so, with the right leader and they haven't got that yet,Labour can rebuild and become a stronger and more to the point, respected, political force again in my view.