Shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray has said that Labour only deserves to improve its poll ratings again when the party is talking about the country and not itself.
The Edinburgh South MP said that the party had become a “byword for machine politics and infighting”.
And he urged members to have enough self-awareness to realise that for most people, politics wasn’t the most important thing in their life.
Speaking at a Progress event in Scotland’s capital city last night, Mr Murray stated: “We have to match our aspirations for a fairer and more decent society with a plan for the economy that people can trust.
“We only deserve to win when we’re talking about the country, not about ourselves.
“There will only be a Labour Government in 2020 if we speak to the concerns of everyday people across the country.
“If we need any lessons about where navel gazing leads, you look no further than right here in Scotland. We have a governing party with a dreadful record in government, but who are still popular.”
He said Labour’s leader in Scotland, Kezia Dugdale, elected in the summer, had set out to repair the “damage” of too many years “where we lost sight of the people we were in politics for”.
That process included understanding why the party’s general election manifesto failed to resonate with voters.
Mr Murray is Scotland’s only Labour MP, following the SNP’s landslide victory at the general election in May.
He added: “People across the UK have no great love for the Tories but we need to understand why working people voted for them.
“We need to win them back, at the same time as we appeal to new voters who feel totally disengaged with mainstream politics.
“For most people politics isn’t about coalitions or movements….it’s about who can answer those fundamental questions – how will you help me, my family, my business, and my future?
“And for those of us with principles on the left, we have to make every effort to apply our values and principles to these questions.”