The five candidates who seek to become the next Labour leader are Andy Burnham, Diane Abbott, David Miliband, Ed Miliband, and Ed Balls. The candidate with the most nominations was David Miliband with nominations from 81 MPs, with his brother Ed on 63 MPs. The other three candidates have nominations from 33 MPs each.
Three electoral colleges (groups) will vote when the ballot takes place in September. These are the 258 Labour MPs, Labour members and associated organisations such as trade unions. What they will have to decide is not only who they feel can unite the different political groups within the party, but more importantly who will be able to command the support of the public and lead the party to victory at the next general election.
Last Tuesday the BBC’s Newsnight organised a leadership debate for the candidates, in which it is generally accepted Andy Burnham came out best. I believe this was because he appeared to be both a personable and serious candidate. He was introduced as “the only candidate from the North of England” and said that he would bring back “the best traditions of the party”.
Harriet Harman’s attempts to promote equality within the party, to reflect the “rainbow nature” of modern Britain, are not evident in the leadership candidates. All five candidates studied at Oxford or Cambridge. Four of the candidates are white men in their 40s, three of whom studied PPE at Oxford. The press has rather predictably said that this is an exclusive selection of candidates. What has been forgotten is that Abbott, Burnham and Balls are all of working class origin and have had to work all the way.
To conclude, I would like to state my personal preference for Andy Burnham as Labour leader as I feel that he will be able to reconnect the party with all those who voted Labour in 1997.
By Leo Such
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