A contest will begin later today to replace Angela Rayner as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party after her resignation last week.
Ms Rayner, who quit after being found guilty of not paying the correct amount of stamp duty on a flat in East Sussex, as revealed by Telegraph, stood down from her three prominent roles: Deputy Prime Minister, Housing Secretary and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. The latter role, being directly elected by members of the Labour Party and affiliated groups.
The election is being seen as a major test for Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, with many party members and left-wingers expressing disquiet at the lack of progress after more than 12 months in power. Many others believe that the Government has been heading in the wrong direction with policies such as the now-abandoned £5 billion cut to disability payments and the scaling back of the £28 billion green investment plan, almost immediately after the General Election.
Also causing tension within the Labour Party ranks has been the slowness of Sir Keir to take a tough line on Israel, which continues to escalate its attacks in Gaza, despite a growing famine and the belief that destroying Hamas by solely military means is impossible.
Against this backdrop, the NEC, the ruling body of the Labour Party, has decided on a quick election process, which starts at 5pm today and concludes on Saturday 25th October, when the new Deputy Leader will be announced.
All those standing must have the support of at 20 per cent of the Parliamentary Labour Party, roughly 80 MPs, and the support three affiliates (at least two trade unions) or five per cent of local constituency labour party associations.
Some commentators have suggested the speed of the election will disadvantage those on the left of the party who do not have No 10 support or the backing of the whips.
However, at the time of going to publication, not a single cabinet minister had indicated they were planning on standing, with both Lisa Nandy and Shabana Mahmood already ruling themselves out of the contest, and the only Government minister being talked about being Alison McGovern, as the “middle of the road” candidate. While a slew of left-wingers and candidates likely to be a thorn in Sir Keir’s side are being floated by their friends and colleagues, including Louise Haigh, Lucy Powell, Emily Thornberry, Rosena Allin-Khan, Anneliesse Dodd, and Richard Burgon.