2020 Labour Leadership Election

[CumbrianLefty]

Jarvis had a terrible result in his own seat, partly through local stick for now having "two jobs". He has a good political "life story", but hasn't shown that much sign of a decent strategy to go with it.

(sorry to mention her yet again, but Rayner scores well on the "life story" thing, and actually has the political skills to match - the more I think about it the more I am liking the cut of her jib)

[Silent Hunter]

Anyway, who wants to be Neil Kinnock here? After a thumping like this, Labour is very unlikely to get back in one go.

[CumbrianLefty]

Anyway, who wants to be Neil Kinnock here? After a thumping like this, Labour is very unlikely to get back in one go.

Depends to a large degree on how Brexit turns out. Things could get very ugly in the next few years, and that creates opportunities as well as grief.

[mileslunn]

Anyway, who wants to be Neil Kinnock here? After a thumping like this, Labour is very unlikely to get back in one go.

I think a Labour majority is extremely unlikely, but Tories will have been in power for 14 years so a hung parliament is possible and if that happens pretty sure unless only a few seats shy, SNP and maybe Liberal Democts back Labour although if they chose someone too far to the left LibDems might back neither.

[Lord Halifax]

Jarvis had a terrible result in his own seat, partly through local stick for now having "two jobs". He has a good political "life story", but hasn't shown that much sign of a decent strategy to go with it.

(sorry to mention her yet again, but Rayner scores well on the "life story" thing, and actually has the political skills to go with it - the more I think about it the more I am liking the cut of her jib)

How strong is the "time for a female leader" sentiment within the party?

[CumbrianLefty]

Jarvis had a terrible result in his own seat, partly through local stick for now having "two jobs". He has a good political "life story", but hasn't shown that much sign of a decent strategy to go with it.

(sorry to mention her yet again, but Rayner scores well on the "life story" thing, and actually has the political skills to go with it - the more I think about it the more I am liking the cut of her jib)

How strong is the "time for a female leader" sentiment within the party?

Pretty strong I would say. Though they will have to be on at least of the centre-left of the party as well (so Thornberry has at least a plausible chance of it, long time pundits favourite Cooper does not)

[Lord Halifax]

Jarvis had a terrible result in his own seat, partly through local stick for now having "two jobs". He has a good political "life story", but hasn't shown that much sign of a decent strategy to go with it.

(sorry to mention her yet again, but Rayner scores well on the "life story" thing, and actually has the political skills to go with it - the more I think about it the more I am liking the cut of her jib)

How strong is the "time for a female leader" sentiment within the party?

Pretty strong I would say. Though they will have to be on at least of the centre-left of the party as well (so Thornberry has at least a plausible chance of it, long time pundits favourite Cooper does not)

That leaves Nandy, Thornberry, Rayner and RLB, right?

[Intell]

Jarvis had a terrible result in his own seat, partly through local stick for now having "two jobs". He has a good political "life story", but hasn't shown that much sign of a decent strategy to go with it.

(sorry to mention her yet again, but Rayner scores well on the "life story" thing, and actually has the political skills to go with it - the more I think about it the more I am liking the cut of her jib)

How strong is the "time for a female leader" sentiment within the party?

Pretty strong I would say. Though they will have to be on at least of the centre-left of the party as well (so Thornberry has at least a plausible chance of it, long time pundits favourite Cooper does not)

Nandy would be by far the better candidate for the simple fact we don't need a labour to replace Corbyn be one constituency south of him (or anywhere in London for that fact).

[CumbrianLefty]

Saw this elsewhere, the only 2 Labour leaders in the past 60 years to win a general election were Harold Wilson and Tony Blair.

One is dead, and the other the current party hates.

Good luck.

The sort of "killer stat" that simultaneously means everything and nothing.

For a start, would Labour have won in 1997 had John Smith lived? Of course they would, easily.

That alone makes the "only Blair can win elections for Labour in modern Britain" meme so beloved by some centrists meaningless - it is simply an accident of history, little more.

Though if you want to take things further - only four Labour people have become PM through elections *ever*. And guess what, one of those is even more reviled in party folk memory than Mr Tony is

[Silent Hunter]

Would Labour have won three terms with John Smith though?

[CumbrianLefty]

Would Labour have won three terms with John Smith though?

Merely because of his age, maybe not.

If you take the view that most of NL's good stuff was done by 2003 at any rate, tho......

[Corbyn is (no longer) the leader of the Labour Party]

I think the answer for the leadership election is Rayner... she checks all the boxes: acceptable to the left, woman, good life story, NOT from London, charismatic, and so on.

[PSOL]

Hopefully Labour selects Diane Abbot as the next party leader. What’s her stance on Brexit anyway.

[Tender Branson]

Only an Emma Watson / Patrick Stewart Doppelspitze can save Labour.

[Zinneke]

I think the answer for the leadership election is Rayner... she checks all the boxes: acceptable to the left, woman, good life story, NOT from London, charismatic, and so on.

Unfortunately people have concluded Jess Phillips is the front runner based on your logic. Not sure she's acceptable to momentum though

[CumbrianLefty]

Phillips is NOT the front runner, because not enough of the membership will vote for her - no matter how often she gets adoring profiles in the right wing press*. It really is that simple.

(*of course, how they would treat her if she *did* become leader is an entirely different matter - and I genuinely find it hard to comprehend how she doesn't seem to get that)

[politicallefty]

Anyway, who wants to be Neil Kinnock here? After a thumping like this, Labour is very unlikely to get back in one go.

Ugh, that's a horrible thought. If Labour lets the Tories rule for almost two decades, at that point you'll just need to have a leader with something better than a -20 favourability rating.

I was watching Sky News on election night (I'd prefer BBC, but Sky has a perpetual live feed of news that I can watch on my TV and I do appreciate that) and I remembered someone who was just completely trashing Corbyn and his leadership of the party. She said something like "Oh, I definitely lost". Apparently it was Ruth Smeeth, MP for Stoke-on-Trent North. She did go down in disastrous defeat in a traditional Labour seat. Apparently, that seat was the 7th most pro-Leave constituency in the country. However, it did seem like her main issue with Corbyn was the anti-Semitism issue.

[Silent Hunter]

Ruth Smeeth is Jewish and pro-Israel. She was was subjected to a huge amount of abuse as a result.

[Frodo]

Why no mention of London mayor Sadiq Khan?

[politicallefty]

Ruth Smeeth is Jewish and pro-Israel. She was was subjected to a huge amount of abuse as a result.

Ah, I wasn't aware of that. Either way, it shouldn't matter. I found the video even though I was watching it live: here. She was absolutely right though. The Labour Party cannot be the party of anti-Semitism or discrimination in any way. Whatever elements in the party support said discrimination need to be purged and expelled in any way possible.

[brucejoel99]

He hasn't seemingly been mentioned all that much in this thread, but I definitely think that Keir Starmer would be the best option to serve as the next leader, as things stand, though I'm open to hearing what all potential contenders have to say.

Why no mention of London mayor Sadiq Khan?

Not an MP.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

An important issue to remember is that the EHRC report is expected in the new year. It is unlikely to make the already discredited current leadership look particularly good.

[Oryxslayer]

Why no mention of London mayor Sadiq Khan?

You need to be an MP to run for leadership. But if he seriously wants the position, I'm sure he has an ally or two in a safe labour seat willing to start an immediate by-election for him. If Corbyn allows the party time to reflect, than Khan has more time to make the moves to rejoin parliament. He probably easily passes all the other requirements since a serious chunk of London would be behind his candidacy, and there's more than enough Unions and party machinery there. Him joining would be a case of doing all the secondary steps first, and then running for a Westminster seat with the understanding that he's an immediate candidate from day one.

Khan however has two downsides behind the  obvious 'not being a MP.' Number one, hes a man. Number two though is more  important. Selecting Khan would send a clear signal that the north would remain on Labour's backburner. Khan can have a 'forwards' (not looking back ideologically but finding something new) style vision that reinvents Labour for the 2020s, but his vision is all about the Global Cities and their commuters. Ideally, rebuilt Labour's vision has a place for their northern communities alongside the expanding internationalists who want to get away from SNP/Tory nationalism.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Jarvis had a terrible result in his own seat, partly through local stick for now having "two jobs".

No worse than anyone else in that area, and the problems will have been the same as for everyone else. Namely that Corbyn is now viciously despised in the area.

[politicallefty]

Why no mention of London mayor Sadiq Khan?

Not an MP.

He was in the past though and could easily get a seat in Parliament. Sadly, I don't think any Anglosphere country is ready for a Muslim leader at this point in time