Jackie Ashley, the well connected Guardian columnist, reveals just how disastrously bad the coming election could be for Labour in her column this morning, suggesting the party could lose 220 seats:

“Some Labour people may think I’m sounding too gloomy, but those who have been privy to recent private polling are a lot more than gloomy. This suggests that Labour could return to the Commons with just 120 MPs or thereabouts, taking the party back to 1930s territory. As ministers look for jobs to keep themselves going after politics, a Miliband move to Europe looks sensible.”

It’s hard to see things getting that bad for Labour, but it does highlight the challenge the party will face next year. While I have no knowledge of Labour’s internal polling or the validity of the numbers mentioned by Mrs Ashley, it does show just how bad things are for Labour and how total Gordon Brown’s destruction of the party has been. The result of this is clear – Labour’s fate is to be out of power for a generation.