But then I’ve realised most of you have no idea what Labour stand for and just make it up most the time
You miss the point that this is purely a numbers game, where those in the middle carry far more weight.
It doesn't matter what you or I think Labour stand for, if they don't win. Equally, it doesn't matter what makes up the Labour members, when they're getting beat in the polls. It's 100% irrelevant, as the result of this is you get 100% Tory rule, which is the last thing (which is possible) that socialists/ labour left (who think they own the party) want.
When was the last time your version of Labour took power from the Tories? I've been supporting that version from centre left, like many others and it still lost, your way doesn't work, we're asking you to support our way. We can try your way again in the future, I promise.
The only thing that matters is the collective make-up of the Labour members and voters when they do win, and they've not taken power back from the Tories since 1997 (Blair). There are various reasons for this, and people can think what they like, but every Labour leader since then (and the 18 years before) has lost/ had far less seats, that's a fact. The ultimate fault of that is the leader, those who voted for the leader in a leadership election and the MP's who watched on whilst getting beat in the polls/ elections.
Labour won't win without the socialists, the unions, the working class and the centre (or voters), it has to be a balance, but it likely won't be an equal balance, it's an unfair game. To attract the voters back you have to offer them something, and not scare them off. You're not going to change centre/ centre-right voters into socialists/ labour-left views, it's not going to happen. If you don't offer them enough to their way of thinking, they jump back to the other side and start batting for the other team (like they do 75% of the time). The centre are like being worth two votes, so to get them you're going to have to offer them more than you would like.
We've not had a socialist or labour-left leader in power since I've been alive, nor has one come close to winning (or had a viable coalition possibility), there simply is not enough people in the UK who think this way alone, to get one elected, it's just not going to happen. The additional problem with pushing for this is that the fear of this (socialist/ labour-left leader) stirs up the far right wing into a frenzy. It's like Newton's third law, everything has an equal and opposite reaction etc, and is partially why the press went wild at Corbyn and this probably didn't help the referendum voting. Ultimately the left of Labour become their own worst enemy, it is sad that this is the case, but ultimately it is true.
It's mad that I'm writing this, which I am aware of, but ludicrously, the closest thing we have had to socialism in the last 45 years was Blair, of course, he wasn't a socialist but at least he got to enact some more moderate policies or those closer to socialism/ labour left than the Tory offerings 18 years before and 12 years after. Corbyn being a socialist was irrelevant, and all he did is prove that having a socialist in power is not a winnable position, and all it does is stir up the far right.
The only people making things up are those assuming all policies will be equal to the Tories, which they obviously won't as they never have been, for any manifestos of any election. Of course, there may be some similar ground on infrastructure, defence etc, but on many aspects, they will be very different.
There are three possible directions for Labour:
1) Socialism/ labour left taking control = stirring up the far right, and ending up with Tory rule with far right elements
2) Centre left/ centre taking control = winning, and ending up with some watered-down left policies, but much better than the Tory offerings. Tory's will have to water down to try and get the centre back (which is what I expect Sunak to try to do, compared to BJ and Truss etc).
3) Centre left control = probable election loss, and Tory right rule, and the Tories carry on as normal.