Let me start by saying that, almost whatever they did, I doubt I'd ever find myself voting for anything Ken Livingstone or Gordon Brown stands for.

It is with some satisfaction, therefore, that I review the underlying causes of the election debacle last week that resulted in Livingstone leaving his London office with his tail between his legs, and saw Brown down around the country and probably out himself of Downing Street before too long.

In my view, Labour suffered in the polling booths last week for three main reasons.

Firstly, the party scored a series of own goals and alienated its own core base of support - the abolition of the 10p tax band, conceived while Brown was Chancellor, was perhaps the worst case in point. (Although the decision to raise - by stealth - Road Tax for older vehicles - in the name of the environment - gave even the 10p tax band fiasco a run for its money).

And Livingstone's decision to increase the Congestion Charging Zone, despite a consultation with local residents which overwhelmingly showed that it wasn't wanted, also helped to do him in. The teachers, nurses and parents driving into the extended zone to go to work, or take their children to school, became the innocent victims of the initiative, as their already-stretched budgets took a further £8-a-day hit. And, to make matters worse, the rich bankers who lived in the area, and who could well afford to pay the £8 charge, now qualified for a 90% discount for living in the extended zone! What Ken and Gordon have failed to realise is that every parking fee or fine, congestion charge and stealth tax (not to mention the hit we have taken on pensions) they introduce (or force hard-up local authorities to introduce) tends to hit lower income-earners more - the very people who tend to vote Labour in the first place.

The other issue that played a part in Labour's election debacle last week was the economy. And ironically the chickens of Brown's own tax and spend policies he introduced as Chancellor are coming home to roost when he finally made it to Number 10. The reality is that Brown's (and Labour's) economic policies will only work as long as the economy itself is strong. When markets turn and times become tough, our Government has found that spending commitments are locked in and yet tax receipts are falling away. The result is that Brown and Co are mortgaging our future, and the country is going to the dogs. In the meantime, food prices are rising, energy costs are on the up and taxes are increasing. A certain receipt for an election meltdown.

But the final thing that now looks like seeing the end of the great Labour experiment of the last 11 years is that most people feel that it's time for a change. Any change. Give the other guys a chance. Surely they can't be any worse. We see that in British political history a lot. In 1964, after 13 years of grand Tory rule, Harold Wilson was catapulted to power. In 1979, after 'The Winter of Discontent' and five bad years of Labour, Maggie Thatcher came in with a vengeance.

And, in 1997, after 17 years of Conservatism, New Labour itself was ushered into power with high hopes of changing the face of the nation. That's all history now, and New Labour is looking decidedly tired, out of touch and unelectable. And Gordon Brown will soon find that, like Ken Livingstone before him, there's no way back now.

Here Is The Writer : Vic Daniels

Vic Daniels is publisher of Here Is The City and a well known City recruiter.

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