Labour Party leadership election 2015

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CANDIDATES FOR LEADER

Andy Burnham - Leigh
Yvette Cooper - Normanton, Pontefract & Castleford
Jeremy Corbyn - Islington North
Liz Kendall - Leicester West

MAP OF PLP NOMINATIONS



MAP OF CLP NOMINATIONS



CANDIDATES FOR DEPUTY LEADER

Ben Bradshaw - Exeter
Stella Creasy - Walthamstow
Angela Eagle - Wallasey
Caroline Flint - Don Valley
Tom Watson - West Bromwich West

MAP OF PLP NOMINATIONS



MAP OF CLP NOMINATIONS



Last updated: 31st of July.

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Of those? You get a fair indication of Kendall's stance from the one thing already, so...

Burnham is traditional Labour Right, and has a working class background (and accent) even if he did go to Cambridge. Cooper is from the same technocratic centre of the Party as her husband (but does not sound like a technocrat). Umunna is generally regarded as a right-winger of the sort often tagged with the not-helpful-at-all label of 'Blairite', but he's actually associated with the soft left Compass think tank. Jarvis (who is not a household name at all but there's enough speculation about him that he's worth including) is a right winger associated with the 'Blairite' organisation Progress, though is mostly notable for his (unusual for Labour) military background. He has sometimes expressed views that are to the left of the Progress stereotype. Hunt (best known as a television historian) owes his seat in Parliament to a selection stitch-up orchestrated by Peter Mandelson: nuff said. He is also associated with Progress. Reeves is an independent minded economist and Fabian Society member who backed Ed Miliband in the 2010 contest despite also being associated with Progress. Her sister is a fixture on the NEC.

Some of those probably won't run, and there are other ambitious people around. And there would presumably also be at least one dedicated candidate of the Hard Left.

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Mostly because it isn't actually true.

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But in any case 'Blairite' is mostly a term of factionalist abuse these days rather than an accurate label.

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Military service is extremely overrated as a candidate trait in the US and I can't see it being much different in the UK

I noted it mostly because its unusual for a Labour politician these days (back when there had been conscript armies engaged in world wars matters were different of course). Not sure whether he's actually interested or whether his name is just being floated around by people with another agenda (it's the Labour Party. This happens).

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Had he survived, would Douglas Alexander have been a serious contender for the leadership?

Hahaha, no.

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Harold Wilson (as everyone here knows) once observed that "the Labour Party is a moral crusade or it is nothing" and isn't that just the truth. This isn't the 1980s and the issue isn't policy. It certainly isn't that current Labour policy is too radical and upset key sections of the electorate (people saying that are just going through the motions, frankly). There is a need to inspire people to actually turn out and to vote for the party. It really is a question of approach and presentation, I think.

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Tom Watson is standing for Deputy. And Liz Kendall running for Leader is actually something that is happening.

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I suspect that a lot of the names mentioned have no interest in running for anything and that there will be people who do (even if maybe only for Deputy) who's names don't appear.

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Jarvis isn't running.

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Considering that both are on the right of the party...

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Jamie Reed (Copeland) is considering standing.

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Well that's my last preference sorted!

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Simon Danczuk is considering running for Deputy.

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On the other hand if you select whoever that person is presumed to be, you can end up with Kevin Rudd.

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Simon Danczuk is considering running for Deputy.

Other new possibles are Ben Bradshaw and Stella Creasy.

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John McDonnell won't be running this time. Speculation on the Left is Jon Trickett (a ShadCab member without portfolio) or Ian Lavery (former NUM President) might run.

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On the other hand if you select whoever that person is presumed to be, you can end up with Kevin Rudd.

I remember reading a comments board of National members quaking at the thought of a David Cunliffe leadership.

Exactly.

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It's not certain how much of a following Umunna actually has.

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Timetable agreed...

The election formally begins on the 15th of May (i.e. this Friday). PLP nominations will open on the 9th of June and close on the 15th (17th for Deputy). Nominations from Affiliates will close on the 31st of July. If you want to have a vote, then you have to be a member, a registered supporter, or a registered affiliate supporter by the 12th of August. Ballots will be posted to all eligible voters on the 14th of August and the deadline for sending them back will be the 10th of September. Results will be announced at a Special Conference on the 12th of September.

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It's that cut-price demi-membership idea that has never really taken off. But now it extends to members of affiliates; the TU dominated NEC has pretty clearly gone for a long electoral timetable in order to get their members registered so that they can vote.

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It's so that there could be OMOV without cutting out the Affiliate element.

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Correct. Although everything is then checked against the Electoral Register (thank God).

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One imagines that the Honourable Member for Streatham's issues in that department will be raised by opposing campaigns.

Burnham did terrible in the last leadership election, I don't know why it would be different this time.

At that time Burnham was not a major figure in the Party; he was mostly running to get his name out there. Things are a little different now; it is, for instance, rumoured that he already has twice the number of MPs needed to qualify for the ballot pledged to support him. Even if that's not actually true, that it sounds plausible (and it does) is telling in itself.

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Cooper has also declared. Lavery is starting to sound as if he's seriously considering it.