UK Labour leadership nominations begin: Who’s running and how it works
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is seen as the clear frontrunner. If no rival emerges, he could become PM this month. British Prime Minister Keir
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is seen as the clear frontrunner. If no rival emerges, he could become PM this month. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s announcement last month that he plans to step down as prime minister and leader of the Labour Party has set in motion the process to select his successor. The successful candidate will take charge of the governing party, which holds a strong majority in parliament, and will become the United Kingdom’s seventh prime minister in a decade. Here’s what you need to know about the Labour leadership selection process, including how it works and who is in the running. What’s happening? Starmer became prime minister on July 5, 2024, after a landslide Labour election victory following 14 years of Conservative Party rule. He announced plans to resign on June 22 amid growing pressure over painful local election defeats for Labour, domestic policy shifts and Starmer’s appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States. Mandelson was sacked over his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer’s resignation means Labour must select a new leader, who will then be positioned to take over as prime minister. Nominations for party leader officially opened on Thursday. How does the nomination process work? Candidates, who must be elected, serving Labour MPs, need the backing of at least 20 percent of their party’s members of parliament – in this case 81 other MPs. They must also be nominated by at least three affiliated organisations, including two trade unions, or by 5 percent of the party’s local branches. Labour MPs can put forward candidates until Wednesday while affiliates can select names on Wednesday and July 16. In the event of a race between multiple candidates, Labour members and affiliated unions will hold a vote between August 6 and 27 with results expected on August 29.
Any person who has been a member of the Labour Party for at least six months before an election is scheduled may vote in the election. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of first-preference votes, lower-ranked candidates are eliminated and their votes redistributed until a winner emerges. So far, the only declared nominee is Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester known as “King of the North” and one of Labour’s most popular politicians. He said that if he wins, he plans to move some of the prime ministerial operations at 10 Downing Street to the northern city of Manchester. Until recently, Burnham was not eligible to stand because he was not an MP. But he won a crucial by-election to represent Makerfield in Greater Manchester in the House of Commons on June 18, making him eligible to contest for the leadership. Since then, his momentum has rocketed. Numerous key Labour figures have thrown their weight behind Burnham, including Wes Streeting and Al Carns, both former ministers in Starmer’s government who had themselves been weighing potential bids. Burnham is thus seen as the clear frontrunner and, by many, the prime minister-in-waiting. Paul Whiteley, emeritus professor of government at the UK’s University of Essex, told Al Jazeera that it appears “increasingly likely” Burnham will be chosen as leader without a rival candidate. Names that have been floated as potential challengers include Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, but neither has signalled she intends to mount a challenge. Rayner has indicated her support for Burnham. What does Burnham stand for? Burnham, part of Labour’s “soft left” faction, has positioned himself to the left of Starmer, advocating a process of “devolution” to tackle regional disparities, an enormous social housing programme and expanded social care.
The BriefWire