Having fled my country of birth – Afghanistan – at a young age and lived in different countries as a refugee, I have gained valuable experiences and life knowledge which could never be attained through academic education. I appreciate many things that so many in this country take for granted.

I have gained, in my mind, a very clear understanding of what it means to be a citizen in a free society. I value it more than most, who do not fully appreciate what it is like to be deprived of such essential freedoms.

That is why in 2010, soon after I became a British citizen, I joined the Labour party. Not only because of its values, record in government and achievements, but also, for me, the Labour party is an arena where tens of thousands of active citizens come together for the attainment of a common good. Where people – no matter their background, history and experiences – try to make our country a better place for all. I, for one, want to to pay back what this country has given to me and my family.

As a proud British citizen, I was excited at the prospect of Ed Miliband walking into 10 Downing Street on 8 May as our prime minister. As members, I felt we had done all we could. As the disappointing results poured in, locally we bucked the trend gaining Wolverhampton South West, making our city a block of red. However, this was a small consolation . It was hard to swallow the crushing defeat we endured.

When asked by a curious Afghan journalist I said, ‘I am disappointed, but given my experiences, being a tiny part of an election campaign in an established democracy is a special privilege.’ I stand by that but would rather not repeat it – winning fair and square really matters.

During the campaign, I managed to change a few non-voters into Labour voters. I was particularly pleased when, in Dudley South, I converted an apathetic non-voter into realising the value of her vote. She thanked me. It is conversations like these that Labour activists must not give up on. While we must refine our message, we must never temper our enthusiasm for delivering progressive change through reaching out to ordinary people.

Looking for answers I became excited by our leadership election and the soul searching debates that had begun. I had hoped the party would go through a deep and proper period of introspection. Things have sadly taken a depressing turn for the worse, from my perspective.

From the outset, I declared my support for Liz Kendall. I believe Labour cannot regain the trust of the British people by wishful thinking. Labour needs a fresh start and fresh ideas to get us back into power in 2020. Kendall has been brave in her arguments and bold in her ideas. More importantly, she understands the scale of our defeat and the challenges ahead.

While she tours the country to sell this message, my faith in the party has taken an emotional knock.

As someone who has lost so much and bears scars of Taliban brutalities, I was sickened and disgusted by the ‘New Labour Taliban’ jibe. I do not know which of the other campaigns said it, but they should be ashamed. My father fought the Taliban and I will never forget – physically or mentally – their oppression. The idea that Labour members could be so insensitive, especially comparing someone who is part of our movement to a terrorist group – who have left me with real scars – left me speechless.

My second emotional knock happened during the Birmingham hustings, when someone in the audience asked about Tony Blair’s election triumphs and what the candidates would do to build on his successes. Jeremy Corbyn’s answer made my blood boil.

Instead of answering the question, Corbyn went on about Afghanistan. It was Armed Forces Day, he did not even bother mentioning the 453 servicemen and women who gave their lives in that country. I know there have been many setbacks in Afghanistan. To say that our intervention has been smooth would be incorrect, or to say that it has been problematic would be an understatement.

But there have been many great achievements too. Just one example, one of my cousins was recently accepted into Kabul university’s medical school with the highest grades from our home district Jaghori. She is the first female from our family to go to university. It was appalling to hear Corbyn use Afghanistan – about which he clearly knows little – for cheap political point scoring.

Insensitive and irresponsible jibes degrade our party. Cheap political point scoring and comments linking the recent Tunisia tragedy to austerity demeans us all. Our party needs profound and fresh thinking, or the British people will knock us out for good.

We must move on from the point scoring and start presenting a positive vision for the Labour party and our country. Only then can we once again become a party of government.

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Rohullah Yakobi is associate fellow at the Human Security Centre

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Photo: BBC