Economically left wing parties haven't been popular in the UK since Atlee. The UK public hold fairly economic left positions when polled, but that doesn't seem

Economically left wing parties haven't been popular in the UK since Atlee. The UK public hold fairly economic left positions when polled, but that doesn't seem to ever translate into voting for left wing parties. Corbyn was deeply unpopular and much of the reason for that was he was seen as far too left wing (nationalise Greggs etc.). There have been three elected labour leaders since 1950: Wilson, Callaghan and Blair. Wilson was the most left wing of the bunch, and most would consider him soft left at best. Blair was fairly centrist or even centre-right by historical standards and, until he destroyed his reputation with the Iraq War, was likely one of the most popular leaders Labour has ever had. I think if it wasn't for the war, he would still be held in extremely high regard. I'm not even sure Labour is or ever has been fundamentally a socialist party. They are a trade unionist party, and the types of people in unions in the UK aren't especially socialist. Atlee was, in some ways, a deviation from the norm, in a highly unusual historical context. The most popular prime ministers of the latter half of the 20th century are arguably Churchill and Thatcher.