That was a factor, Richard, but Labour never had an answer to the five-year-old Tory mantra that they were "having to clear up Labour's mess". They should have been
ready to pour scorn all over that Tory lie and move on, but they were on the defensive about it all the time. During the campaign, it was the other Tory lie, that Labour would be weak and "propped up by an SNP that wanted to destroy the United Kingdom" that nobbled Labour in England. The media certainly reinforced both those messages, it can't be gainsaid, but the campaign managers behind Cameron got the required message spot on. That's what Labour must learn from.