All you need to know about the race to be the next Labour leader
We look at how the candidates are selected, the runners and riders, as well as when the new leader will be announced.
By Thomas Herbert and Joshua Payne
With Jeremy Corbyn announcing he will stand down imminently, it is time to look at who will replace him. Many have been waiting for the opportunity to support someone other than Corbyn for some time, and the process is now finally underway. The General Secretary has written to the National Executive Committee (NEC) with a recommended start date of January 7th — with the aim to have elected a new leader by the end of March.
How to get on the leadership ballot:
The potential candidates need to gain the support of 10% of elected MPs and MEPs to get on the ballot paper. Due to the losses of Labour MPs in the election, this number is currently only 21. There is also a new rule that was put into place last year. On top of the 10% of MPs/MEPs, you also need the support of one of the following: 5% of Constituency Labour Parties; or 5% of the various affiliated societies, groups, and trade unions. To attain support via the latter method, your support must be made up of at least three separate entities — two of which must be trade unions.
To be able to vote:
There are three options for those who wish to vote in the leadership election. You must be either: A Labour Party Member, A Registered Supporter, or a member of an Affiliated Trade Union. There is no longer the £3 registered supporters option — this was widely believed to be the key change that helped Jeremy Corbyn get elected in 2015. The options are now the £50 standard yearly membership, £25 reduced option, or £3 for students and members of the armed forces.
Who are the Favourites to be elected, and what do they stand for?
There has been a widespread belief for some time in the Labour Party that the next leader should be a woman, and the favourites reflect this — though with some notable exceptions. It is also thought that another London-based leader may exacerbate the problem that Labour has been facing in its former ‘red wall’. Another consideration is their Brexit stance — there is a worry that the party may further alienate some of the 'leave’ constituencies that Labour needs to get back onside. Those closest to Corbyn will have the benefit of member support, but will they reflect on the recent electoral disaster and change tack? We look at some of the favourites.
Rebecca Long-Bailey
- Current Odds: 7/4 (All odds with Ladbrokes)
- Constituency: Salford and Eccles (Maj. 16,327)
The Manchester-based former solicitor has experienced a rapid rise to prominence in the Labour Party, despite only being elected as MP for Salford and Eccles in 2015. Entering the Shadow Cabinet within a year as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Long-Bailey currently acts as Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Backed by Unite the Union, Long-Bailey is a close ally of Jeremy Corbyn: standing in for him in recent TV debates, whilst also joining him centre-stage for the launch of the 2019 manifesto. She was also one of the original 36 members of the PLP (Parliamentary Labour Party) who nominated Corbyn in the 2015 Labour leadership election.
The rising star is backed by key Labour figures such as Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Richard Burgon. This high-profile backing of an MP from a northern seat can be seen as an attempt to potentially reconnect with the working-classes who abandoned Labour in the recent election. With Salford and Eccles voting to Leave by 53.59%, Long-Bailey is seen as a positive break from the London-dominated Labour leadership.
Considered one of the favourites for the job, Long-Bailey would have to deal with her attachment to the Corbyn Project in order to succeed with the electorate. However, she is a candidate who ticks many boxes for those on the left — and the bookies are making her favourite for this reason.
Lisa Nandy
- Current Odds: 7/2
- Constituency: Wigan (Maj. 6,728)
Appearing as one of the more prominent Labour voices after their defeat in the 2019 Election, Lisa Nandy has called for a revamp of the whole party in a bid to reconnect with its traditional working-class towns in the Midlands and the North.
MP for Wigan since 2010, a constituency which voted in favour of ‘Leave’ at 62.96%, Nandy has been a rare voice on the Labour benches arguing for the realisation of Brexit. She was also part of the group of Labour MPs who led a failed attempt to remove Corbyn from office and replace him with Owen Smith.
Although Nandy held on to her Wigan seat which makes up part of the now-infamous Labour ‘red wall’, she saw her share of the vote decrease by 15.5% — losing votes primarily to the Brexit Party, but also the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Although seen to be on the left of the Labour Party, she has spoken out against the current leadership — arguing there was a lack of interest in the needs of northern voters. This is a mistake that she believes led to the loss of their former supporters across their heartlands.
The former Shadow Energy Secretary has recently called for the HQ of the Labour Party to be moved away from London, and has been one of the loudest voices in calling for Labour to reconnect with its historical voter-base in northern towns.
Keir Starmer
- Current Odds: 6/1
- Constituency: Holborn and St Pancras (Maj. 27,763)
Seen as a sensible and pragmatic figure throughout the political world, Keir Starmer is seen by many as a strong leadership figure. The former Director of the CPS and current Shadow Brexit Secretary has been a consistent advocate for a Brexit compromise with a People’s Vote, aiming to bring both Brexiteers and Remainers together. This desire for a Second Referendum has been criticised, however, with some Corbyn backers arguing this was the key factor in Labour’s electoral collapse — rather than the leadership itself.
Starmer, a prominent former human rights lawyer, has been seen to be instrumental in holding to account and frustrating the Conservative governments over Brexit, using his legal prowess to regularly embarrass Tory Brexiteers such as David Davis and Ian Duncan Smith.
However, Starmer is at a disadvantage in this leadership election because of the current mood in the Labour Party, which is coalescing around the idea of a female leader from a seat outside of London. This is a problem for Starmer who represents Holborn and St Pancras, a North London constituency which voted 73.34% to Remain. Starmer, therefore, may not be seen as a candidate capable of reconnecting the Labour Party with its former working-class supporters.
Angela Rayner
- Current Odds: 8/1
- Constituency: Ashton-under-Lyne (Maj. 4,263)
Another rising star within the Labour Party, Angela Rayner is seen as a figure who can help the party reconnect with its working-class roots. The current Shadow Education Secretary has a remarkably inspiring background story. Rayner grew up on a council estate in Stockport, left school with no qualifications, and became pregnant at 16. She left home to raise the child alone, becoming a single working mother in the care sector. Advancing through the Union movement — later becoming a full-time official at Unison — she became involved in the Labour Party and was finally elected into Parliament in 2015.
Rayner is seen to be a formidable public speaker, injecting passion into a variety of controversial issues, especially private schools — which she believes should be stripped of charitable status. She is seen to be a key voice for the working-classes in the PLP, drawing on her own experiences to attack Conservative policies.
Representing Ashton-under-Lyne, a constituency which voted to leave by 61.81%, Rayner is another female candidate on this list who is seen as a potential unifying figure for Labour.
Despite her backing Andy Burnham in the 2015 Leadership Election, Rayner has been a key figure on the left under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn — pushing the leadership towards an agenda of social justice. However, she is also a close ally of Rebecca Long-Bailey, and as both are yet to declare, it will be interesting to see if both end up on the ballot.
Jess Phillips
- Current Odds: 10/1
- Constituency: Birmingham Yardley (Maj. 10,659)
Jess Phillips is seen as another female rising star within the Labour Party, someone who is seen as honest and in touch with the population. Gaining prominence through her impassioned speeches attacking the Conservative Party and the Corbyn leadership, she has become somewhat of an internet sensation, especially through her defence of LGBT education in schools within her own constituency.
Primarily criticising Corbyn’s leadership for Labours crushing defeat in the 2019 Election, Phillips is seen as a moderate figure within the party. Phillips represents a Midlands constituency in Birmingham Yardley — a constituency in which voted 60.09% leave. Again, she is seen as someone who can help the party reconnect with those voters who abandoned them in the most recent election, despite formerly being in favour of a second referendum.
However, in a leadership election in which the party membership hold huge power, Corbyn supporters will still play a huge role. This may work against Phillips, who has often been critical of the way Labour has been run since 2015, and publicly backed Owen Smith to replace Jeremy Corbyn.
Phillips has been a strong advocate for the victims of domestic and sexual violence/abuse, relentlessly pursuing the cross-party Domestic Abuse Bill, seen as a key legacy of the 2015–2017 parliament.
Yvette Cooper
- Current Odds: 12/1
- Constituency: Normanton, Pontefract & Castleford (Maj. 1,276)
The most prominent centrist being considered for leadership is Yvette Cooper, who also ran during Jeremy Corbyn’s successful campaign in 2015. A prominent figure on the backbenches, Cooper is currently chair of the home affairs select committee. She is also part of a grouping of moderate Labour MPs — such as Hilary Benn — who created a cross-party alliance that dealt a series of blows to the Government during the Brexit debates.
Much like her husband, former Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, Cooper is seen as a symbol of the once prominent New Labour wing within the party. This is something which may cause her problems if she chooses to stand, due to the much less moderate party membership — a membership that generally sees New Labour as a negative entity.
The Outsiders:
Emily Thornberry
- Current Odds: 33/1
- Constituency: Islington South and Finchley (Maj. 17,328)
Emily Thornberry has recently fallen backwards in the race to be the next Labour leader. Seen as toxic to those in the north, this devout Remainer came under fire during the Rochester and Strood by-election for a tweet: one which appeared to criticise a local household with an England flag in the window and a white van in the drive. As with Keir Starmer, her remain stance and London constituency make it unlikely that she will be selected.
Dan Jarvis
- Current Odds: 33/1
- Constituency: Barnsley Central (Maj. 3,751)
Jarvis is a former British Army officer who was elected as MP for Barnsley Central in the 2011 by-election, in addition to becoming Mayor of the Sheffield City Region in 2018. A supporter of Owen Smith’s leadership challenge against Corbyn, Jarvis is seen to be on the right of the Labour Party. Although he is well-placed to attract northern voters, due to his lack of appeal to the party membership, Jarvis is very much an outsider for the upcoming leadership race.
Although no-one has officially put themselves forward for the leadership contest at the time of writing, it is clear that MPs and prominent Labour members are coalescing around their preferred candidates. This leadership election will perhaps define the direction in which the Labour Party takes over the next parliament and beyond. As MPs begin the fight for the future of the Labour Party, the question remains whether it can reunite its factions that are currently embattled in a bitter civil war.
