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The 2015 Labour Party leadership election was an internal Labour Party poll which was triggered by the resignation of
Ed Miliband Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliban ...
as Leader of the Labour Party on 8 May 2015, following the party's defeat at the 2015 general election. Harriet Harman, the Deputy Leader, became Acting Leader but announced that she would stand down after the leadership election. It was won by
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the pol ...
in the first round. Four candidates were successfully nominated to stand in the election: Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper,
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the pol ...
, and Liz Kendall. The voting process began on Friday 14 August 2015 and closed on Thursday 10 September 2015, and the results were announced on Saturday 12 September 2015. Voting was by Labour Party members and registered and affiliated supporters, using the alternative vote system. Support for Corbyn, who entered the race as a
dark horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...
candidate, and the release of opinion polls which showed him leading the race, led to high-profile interventions by a number of prominent Labour figures including
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
,
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of the ...
,
Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...
, David Miliband, and Alastair Campbell, among others, many of whom argued that Corbyn's election as leader would leave the party unelectable. Despite these interventions, Corbyn was elected in the first round receiving 59.5% of the votes, winning in all three sections of the ballot. Less than a year later, a leadership challenge saw another leadership election, where Corbyn again won, with an increased share of the vote.


Procedure

The leadership election, triggered by
Ed Miliband Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliban ...
's resignation, took place under the reformed rules adopted from the proposals of the February 2014 Collins Report, which was led by
Ray Collins, Baron Collins of Highbury Ray Edward Harry Collins, Baron Collins of Highbury (born 21 December 1954) is a British politician and trade unionist serving as a Member of the House of Lords since 2011. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Shadow Deputy Leader of the H ...
, and was itself partly the result of calls for inquiry and reform relating to the 2013 Falkirk Selection Scandal. The plan entailed a shorter election than the one that took place in 2010, with a new leader being in place before Labour's party conference in September 2015. The review changed the way in which Labour elects leaders. Under the former system, a three-way electoral college chose the leader, with one-third weight given to the votes of the Parliamentary Labour Party (i.e., Labour members of the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
and Labour
members of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
), one-third to individual Labour Party members, and one third to the trade union and affiliated societies sections. Following the Collins review, the electoral college was replaced by a pure " one member, one vote" (OMOV) system. Candidates are elected by members and registered and affiliated supporters, who all receive a maximum of one vote and all votes are weighted equally. This meant that, for example, members of Labour-affiliated trade unions needed to register as Labour supporters to vote. To stand, candidates now needed to be nominated by at least 15% of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), i.e. 35
MPs MPS, M.P.S., MPs, or mps may refer to: Science and technology * Mucopolysaccharidosis, genetic lysosomal storage disorder * Mononuclear phagocyte system, cells in mammalian biology * Myofascial pain syndrome * Metallopanstimulin * Potassium perox ...
, at that time. The vote, as in previous elections, was held under the alternative vote (instant-runoff) system. The deputy leadership election was held under the same rules. The election itself was overseen by Electoral Reform Services. In late August, the Labour Party reported that about 552,000 members and supporters were eligible to vote; about 292,000 full members, 148,000 affiliated supporters (members of trade unions and socialist societies who opted to affiliate), plus 112,000 registered supporters.


Timetable

A meeting of Labour's National Executive Committee took place on 13 May 2015 to set a timetable and procedure for the two elections. * ''Tuesday 9 June 2015'' – Nominations open * ''Monday 15 June 2015 (12:00)'' – Nominations for the Leader close * ''Wednesday 17 June 2015 (12:00)'' – Nominations for the Deputy Leader close * ''Wednesday 17 June 2015 (12:00)'' – Hustings period opens * ''Friday 31 July 2015 (12:00)'' – Supporting nominations close * ''Wednesday 12 August 2015 (15:00)'' – Last date to join as member, affiliated support or registered supporter and be able to vote * ''Friday 14 August 2015'' – Ballot papers are sent out * ''Thursday 10 September 2015 (12:00)'' – Ballot closes * ''Saturday 12 September 2015'' – Special Conference to announce the results The deadline on 12 August 2015 to join as a member or supporter was extended by 3 hours due to heavy demand making the party website difficult to use.


Candidates


Nominated

To be placed on the ballot, candidates for leader had to obtain the nominations of 35 MPs. An MP who nominates a candidate does not have to subsequently support, or vote for, that candidate. Some MPs have stated that they nominated only to ensure that candidate got onto the ballot paper. The number of MPs next to the candidate's name below includes the candidate, who can count as one of the 35 MPs needed. Public nominations for candidates by MPs were as follows: * Andy Burnham (68): Debbie Abrahams, Heidi Alexander, David Anderson, Hilary Benn, Luciana Berger,
Clive Betts Clive James Charles Betts (born 13 January 1950) is a British Labour Party politician and former economist, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Attercliffe from 1992 to 2010 and is the current MP for the successor seat of Shef ...
, Paul Blomfield, Kevin Brennan, Julie Cooper,
David Crausby Sir David Anthony Crausby (born 17 June 1946) is a British Labour politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton North East from 1997 to 2019. Born in Bury, Lancashire, Crausby worked as a turner and later became a workplace re ...
, Alex Cunningham, Wayne David, Peter Dowd, Michael Dugher,
Bill Esterson William Roffen Esterson (born 27 October 1966) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sefton Central since 2010. He has been Shadow Minister for International Trade since 2016. He was Shadow Mi ...
, Paul Farrelly, Rob Flello, Yvonne Fovargue, Pat Glass, Mary Glindon, Lilian Greenwood, Margaret Greenwood,
Nia Griffith Dame Nia Rhiannon Griffith (born 4 December 1956) is a Welsh politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Llanelli since 2005. A member of the Labour Party, she has been a Shadow Minister for International Trade since 2021. G ...
, Andrew Gwynne, Harry Harpham, Carolyn Harris,
Stephen Hepburn Stephen Hepburn (born 6 December 1959) is a British politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Jarrow from 1997 to 2019. Hepburn was a member of the Labour Party until 7 October 2019, when he was suspended from the party following an acc ...
,
Kate Hoey Catharine Letitia Hoey, Baroness Hoey (born 21 June 1946), better known as Kate Hoey, is a Northern Irish politician and life peer who served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Home Affairs from 1998 to 1999 and Minister for Sport from 1999 ...
, Kate Hollern, Dan Jarvis, Gerald Jones, Graham Jones, Barbara Keeley, Ian Lavery, Emma Lewell-Buck, Ian Lucas, Holly Lynch, Justin Madders, Rachael Maskell, Chris Matheson,
Kerry McCarthy Kerry Gillian McCarthy (born 26 March 1965) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol East since 2005. A member of the Labour Party, she is the Shadow Minister for Climate Change. She was Shadow Secretary ...
, Andy McDonald,
Conor McGinn Conor Patrick McGinn (born 31 July 1984) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for St Helens North since 2015. He was the Labour Party Deputy National Campaign Coordinator from June 2021 and Shadow Minister without Po ...
, Liz McInnes, Alan Meale, Ian Mearns, Lisa Nandy, Albert Owen, Teresa Pearce, Lucy Powell, Yasmin Qureshi, Angela Rayner,
Jamie Reed Jamieson Ronald "Jamie" Reed (born 4 August 1973) is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Copeland from 2005 to 2017. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Mini ...
, Christina Rees, Rachel Reeves, Steve Rotheram, Jeff Smith, Owen Smith,
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras ...
, Jo Stevens,
Nick Thomas-Symonds Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (born 26 May 1980) is a British academic, barrister and politician who has been Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for T ...
,
Anna Turley Anna Catherine Turley (born 9 October 1978) is a British politician. She was the Labour and Co-operative Member of Parliament (MP) for Redcar from 2015 until 2019. Turley was chair of the Co-operative Party from 8 June 2019 until December 2019. ...
, Karl Turner,
Derek Twigg John Derek Twigg (born 9 July 1959) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Halton in Cheshire since the 1997 general election. Early life Twigg attended Bankfield High School (now Ormiston Ch ...
, Valerie Vaz, Alan Whitehead, Iain Wright * Yvette Cooper (59): Jon Ashworth, Ian Austin, Adrian Bailey,
Roberta Blackman-Woods Roberta Carol Blackman-Woods (' Woods; 16 August 1957) is a British academic and former Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the City of Durham from 2005 to 2019. Early life and career Blackman-Woods is from Nor ...
, Lyn Brown, Nick Brown, Chris Bryant, Karen Buck, Richard Burden,
Liam Byrne Liam Dominic Byrne (born 2 October 1970) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Hodge Hill since 2004. A member of the Labour Party, he served in Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Cabinet from 2008 to 201 ...
,
Ruth Cadbury Ruth Margaret Cadbury (born 14 May 1959) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentford and Isleworth since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Shadow Minister for International Trade since 2021. A ...
,
Ann Clwyd Ann Clwyd Roberts (; born 21 March 1937) is a Welsh Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Cynon Valley for 35 years, from 1984 until 2019. Although she had intended to stand down in 2015, she was re-elected in tha ...
, Vernon Coaker, Judith Cummins, Jim Cunningham, Nic Dakin, Geraint Davies,
Thangam Debbonaire Thangam Elizabeth Rachel Debbonaire (' Singh; born 3 August 1966) is a British Labour Party politician, serving as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons since May 2021. She was previously the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing from 2020 ...
, Jack Dromey, Maria Eagle, Jim Fitzpatrick, Colleen Fletcher, Vicky Foxcroft, Helen Goodman, Kate Green, Fabian Hamilton, David Hanson, Sue Hayman, John Healey, Sharon Hodgson,
George Howarth Sir George Edward Howarth (born 29 June 1949) is a British Labour Party politician who serves as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Knowsley. He also served the seat's predecessors since being elected in a by-election in 1986, firstly as the ...
, Diana Johnson, Helen Jones, Kevan Jones,
Stephen Kinnock Stephen Nathan Kinnock (born 1 January 1970) is a Welsh politician who has served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberavon (UK Parliament constituency), Aberavon since 2015. A member of the Labour Party (U ...
, Chris Leslie,
Khalid Mahmood Khalid Mahmood (also spelled Mahmud) may refer to: * Allama Khalid Mahmood (1925–2020), Islamic scholar and former Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan (Shariat Appellate Bench). * Khaled Mahmud (born 1971), Bangladeshi cricketer * Khalid Mahmood ...
, Shabana Mahmood,
Seema Malhotra Seema Malhotra (born 7 August 1972) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Feltham and Heston since 2011. A member of Labour and Co-operative, she has served as Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers since 20 ...
, John Mann,
Steve McCabe Stephen James "Steve" McCabe (born 4 August 1955) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Selly Oak since 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was previously MP for Birmingham Hall Green from 1997 ...
, Catherine McKinnell, Madeleine Moon, Melanie Onn, Matthew Pennycook, Jess Phillips, Bridget Phillipson, Stephen Pound, Marie Rimmer, Geoffrey Robinson,
Naz Shah Naseem Shah (; born 13 November 1973) is a British Labour Party politician. She was elected at the 2015 general election as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford West, winning the seat from George Galloway of the Respect Party. She has se ...
, Virendra Sharma,
Paula Sherriff Paula Michelle Sherriff (born 16 April 1975) is a British Labour politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dewsbury from 2015 to 2019. Early life Prior to her election to Parliament, Sherriff worked in the police force, prov ...
, Andy Slaughter, Ruth Smeeth,
Karin Smyth Karin Marguerite Smyth (born 8 September 1964) is a British Labour Party politician. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol South in 2015. Early life and career Born in London, her parents had emigrated from Ireland to ...
, John Spellar, Daniel Zeichner * Liz Kendall (41): Sir Kevin Barron, Tom Blenkinsop, Jenny Chapman, Ann Coffey,
Simon Danczuk Simon Christopher Danczuk (; born 24 October 1966) is a British author and former Member of Parliament (MP) who represented the constituency of Rochdale between 2010 and 2017. He has co-written two books, ''Smile for the Camera: The Double Lif ...
, Gloria De Piero, Stephen Doughty, Jim Dowd, Julie Elliott, Louise Ellman, Chris Evans, Paul Flynn, Mike Gapes, Mark Hendrick, Margaret Hodge,
Tristram Hunt Tristram Julian William Hunt, (born 31 May 1974) is a British historian, broadcast journalist and former politician who has been Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum since 2017. He served as the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Sto ...
,
Mike Kane Michael Joseph Patrick Kane (born 9 January 1969) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wythenshawe and Sale East since February 2014. He won the seat in the 2014 by-election, which was held foll ...
, Peter Kyle, Ivan Lewis, Fiona Mactaggart, Siobhain McDonagh,
Pat McFadden Patrick Bosco McFadden (born 26 March 1965) is a British politician serving as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton South East since ...
, Alison McGovern, Jessica Morden, Toby Perkins, Steve Reed, Jonathan Reynolds,
Emma Reynolds Emma Elizabeth Reynolds (born 2 November 1977) is a British Labour politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton North East from 2010 to 2019, and the Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in ...
,
Joan Ryan Joan Ryan may refer to: * Joan Ryan (actress), American actress and singer * Joan Ryan (politician) Joan Marie Ryan (born 8 September 1955) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Enfield North from 1997 to 2010 and ...
, Barry Sheerman, Gavin Shuker, Nick Smith, Angela Smith, Wes Streeting, Gisela Stuart, Stephen Timms, Stephen Twigg, Chuka Umunna, Phil Wilson, John Woodcock *
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the pol ...
(36): Diane Abbott, Rushanara Ali, Margaret Beckett, Richard Burgon, Dawn Butler,
Ronnie Campbell Ronald Campbell (born 14 August 1943) is a former British Labour Party politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Blyth Valley from 1987 until 2019. Early life Campbell was born in Tynemouth, and grew up with seven siblings. He attende ...
, Sarah Champion,
Jo Cox Helen Joanne Cox ( Leadbeater; 22 June 1974 – 16 June 2016) was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen from May 2015 until her murder in June 2016. She was a member of the Labour Party. Born in B ...
,
Neil Coyle Neil Alan John Coyle (born 30 December 1978) is a British Independent politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bermondsey and Old Southwark since 2015. He was elected MP as a member of the Labour Party, but was suspende ...
,
Jon Cruddas Jonathan Cruddas (born 7 April 1962) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dagenham and Rainham since 2010, and formerly for Dagenham between 2001 and 2010. A graduate of the University of Warwi ...
, Clive Efford, Frank Field, Louise Haigh, Kelvin Hopkins, Rupa Huq, Imran Hussain, Huw Irranca-Davies, Sadiq Khan, David Lammy, Clive Lewis, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Gordon Marsden, John McDonnell, Michael Meacher, Grahame Morris, Chi Onwurah, Kate Osamor, Tulip Siddiq, Dennis Skinner, Andrew Smith,
Cat Smith Catherine Jane Smith (born 16 June 1985) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Lancaster and Fleetwood since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she was a member of the shadow cabinets of Jeremy Corbyn and ...
, Gareth Thomas, Emily Thornberry,
Jon Trickett Jon Hedley Trickett (born 2 July 1950) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hemsworth in West Yorkshire since a 1996 by-election. He was Shadow Lord President of the Council from 2016 to 2020 ...
, Catherine West Before dropping out of the race on 12 June, Mary Creagh had 10 nominations: Sarah Champion,
Jo Cox Helen Joanne Cox ( Leadbeater; 22 June 1974 – 16 June 2016) was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Batley and Spen from May 2015 until her murder in June 2016. She was a member of the Labour Party. Born in B ...
,
Neil Coyle Neil Alan John Coyle (born 30 December 1978) is a British Independent politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bermondsey and Old Southwark since 2015. He was elected MP as a member of the Labour Party, but was suspende ...
,
Thangam Debbonaire Thangam Elizabeth Rachel Debbonaire (' Singh; born 3 August 1966) is a British Labour Party politician, serving as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons since May 2021. She was previously the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing from 2020 ...
,
Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...
,
Susan Jones Susan Elan Jones (born 1 June 1968) is a former British Labour Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Clwyd South, replacing the previous Labour MP Martyn Jones after his retirem ...
,
Mike Kane Michael Joseph Patrick Kane (born 9 January 1969) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wythenshawe and Sale East since February 2014. He won the seat in the 2014 by-election, which was held foll ...
,
Stephen Kinnock Stephen Nathan Kinnock (born 1 January 1970) is a Welsh politician who has served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberavon (UK Parliament constituency), Aberavon since 2015. A member of the Labour Party (U ...
, Tulip Siddiq A total of 26 Labour MPs did not nominate any candidate:
Graham Allen Graham Allen may refer to: *Graham Allen (politician) (born 1953), British Labour politician *Graham Allen (footballer) (born 1977), English footballer * Graham Allen (writer) (born 1963), British-born Irish writer and academic See also *Graham All ...
,
Ben Bradshaw Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw (born 30 August 1960) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from 2009 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Exeter since 1 ...
, Alan Campbell, Rosie Cooper, Mary Creagh,
Stella Creasy Stella Judith Creasy (born 5 April 1977) is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for the London constituency of Walthamstow since 2010. She served in the frontbench teams of Ed Miliband and Harriet ...
, John Cryer, Angela Eagle, Natascha Engel, Caroline Flint, Barry Gardiner, Roger Godsiff, Harriet Harman, Meg Hillier,
Lindsay Hoyle Sir Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (born 10 June 1957)'HOYLE, Hon. Lindsay (Harvey)', Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012 ; online edn, Nov 201 Retrieved 31 December 20 ...
, Alan Johnson, Sir Gerald Kaufman,
Ed Miliband Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliban ...
, Rob Marris, Ian Murray,
Graham Stringer Graham Eric Stringer (born 17 February 1950) is a British Labour Party politician serving as MP for Blackley and Broughton since 1997. Before entering Parliament, he served as leader of Manchester City Council from 1984 to 1996, and chair of ...
, Mark Tami, Keith Vaz, Tom Watson, David Winnick,
Rosie Winterton Dame Rosalie Winterton, (born 10 August 1958) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster Central since 1997. In June 2017, Winterton became one of three Deputy Speakers in the House of Comm ...


Withdrew

* Mary Creagh, Shadow Secretary of State for International Development and MP for
Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population ...
* Chuka Umunna, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and MP for StreathamChuka Umunna withdraws Labour leader bid
-
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
(retrieved 15 May 2015)


Declined

* Diane Abbott, former Shadow Minister for Public Health, candidate for leader in 2010 and MP for
Hackney North and Stoke Newington Hackney North and Stoke Newington is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since 1987 by Diane Abbott of the Labour Party, who served as Shadow Home Secretary from 6 October 2016 to 5 April 2020. Abbott was ...
( running for Mayor of London) * Rushanara Ali, former Shadow Minister for Education and MP for Bethnal Green and Bow ( running for Deputy Leader) *
Stella Creasy Stella Judith Creasy (born 5 April 1977) is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for the London constituency of Walthamstow since 2010. She served in the frontbench teams of Ed Miliband and Harriet ...
, MP for
Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Charing Cross, the town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and Sou ...
( running for Deputy Leader) * Angela Eagle, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, former Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and MP for Wallasey ( running for Deputy Leader)Liam Murphy
"Wallasey MP Angela Eagle joins race to be Labour's deputy leader"
, ''Liverpool Echo'' (18 May 2015).
*
Tristram Hunt Tristram Julian William Hunt, (born 31 May 1974) is a British historian, broadcast journalist and former politician who has been Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum since 2017. He served as the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Sto ...
, Shadow Secretary of State for Education and MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central * Dan Jarvis, Shadow Minister of Justice and MP for Barnsley Central * Alan Johnson, former
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
, former Secretary of State for Health and MP for
Hull West and Hessle Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle is a borough constituency for the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) at least once every five years by the first-past-the-post electoral system. T ...
* David Lammy, former Minister of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills and MP for Tottenham ( ran for Mayor of London) * Ian Lavery, MP for
Wansbeck Places called Wansbeck include: *The River Wansbeck, a river in Northumberland, England *Wansbeck District—a former local government district in south-east Northumberland, through which the river flows *Wansbeck (UK Parliament constituency)—a co ...
* John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington * Alison McGovern, MP for Wirral South * Lisa Nandy, MP for
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
*
Jamie Reed Jamieson Ronald "Jamie" Reed (born 4 August 1973) is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Copeland from 2005 to 2017. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Mini ...
, MP for Copeland * Rachel Reeves, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and MP for
Leeds West Leeds West is a borough constituency in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of ...
* Owen Smith, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales and MP for
Pontypridd () ( colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest () ...
*
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras ...
, former Director of Public Prosecutions and MP for
Holborn and St Pancras Holborn and St Pancras () is a parliamentary constituency in Greater London that was created in 1983. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2015 by Sir Keir Starmer, the current Leade ...
*
Jon Trickett Jon Hedley Trickett (born 2 July 1950) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hemsworth in West Yorkshire since a 1996 by-election. He was Shadow Lord President of the Council from 2016 to 2020 ...
, Shadow Minister without Portfolio, former Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and MP for Hemsworth


Endorsements


Media reaction

;Burnham Burnham was praised for having both "a radical left-wing vision" and being credible enough "to unite the party and win back power", as well as for being someone who "actually listens to party members and the public". Burnham attracted press criticism for claiming £17,000 a year from the taxpayer to rent a London flat, despite owning another within walking distance of the House of Commons. A spokesman for Burnham said that renting out the original flat was necessary to "cover his costs" as parliamentary rule changes meant he was no longer able to claim for mortgage interest expenses. Burnham was criticised for saying that Labour should have a woman leader "when the time is right", with the ''
New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members o ...
'' saying that he had "tripped over his mouth again". ;Cooper Cooper was praised by the '' Huffington Post'' for her hard work in local constituencies during the leadership contest and for her preparation for the Local Government Association hustings. She has been criticised both for thanking David Miliband for putting her as his second choice (after Liz Kendall) and for her "broken, downbeat delivery". ;Corbyn Corbyn's leadership bid was the subject of fierce discussion within the media.
Janan Ganesh Janan ( fa, جانان, also Romanized as Jānān) is a village in Shirin Darreh Rural District, in the Central District of Quchan County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
in the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikke ...
'' argued that the election of Corbyn "spells disaster" for the Labour Party.
Owen Jones Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a British newspaper columnist, Pundit, political commentator, journalist, author, and Left-wing politics, left-wing activist. He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'' a ...
argued in ''The Guardian'' that the reason Corbyn was so popular was because he "offers a coherent, inspiring and, crucially, a hopeful vision" addressing social injustice and economic inequality, comparing the surge of support for Corbyn to the popularity of both UKIP in England and the Scottish National Party (SNP) in Scotland. ;Kendall In June 2015, Kendall's leadership bid received praise from '' The Sun'', who said that she is the "only prayer they he Labour Partyhave". ''The Sun'' also praised her for saying 'the country comes first' in response to Andy Burnham who said 'the abourParty always comes first' in the ''
Newsnight ''Newsnight'' (or ''BBC Newsnight'') is BBC Two's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. The programme is broadcast on weekdays at 22:30. and is also avail ...
'' Labour leadership hustings. Commentators from across the political spectrum have said that Kendall is the leadership candidate that the Conservatives "fear the most". However, the Huffington Post criticised her, saying " Liz Kendall just doesn't seem to have it, she seems to be always on the verge of tripping over her own words, as if she is perpetually being caught off guard."


Dispute over election integrity

One of the most notable features of the election was the large increase in Labour Party membership, and the registration of significant numbers of the new affiliated and registered classes of voting supporters, during the period of the campaign. Concern was expressed that the new rules were unfairly benefiting Corbyn, and there might be a legal challenge, but in the event the result was so decisive these concerns were not pursued after the election. In June 2015, the Conservative-identifying political commentator
Toby Young Toby Daniel Moorsom Young (born 17 October 1963) is a British social commentator. He is the founder and director of the Free Speech Union, an associate editor of '' The Spectator'', and a former associate editor at '' Quillette.'' A graduate ...
wrote in the ''Telegraph'' encouraging Conservatives to join Labour to vote for
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the pol ...
, his reason being "to consign Labour to electoral oblivion". This trended on Twitter as #ToriesforCorbyn and the attempt, as well as Labour's response, were subject to criticism. Two days later the Communist Party of Great Britain (Provisional Central Committee) wrote also in support of Corbyn. Following this, Labour MP John Mann called for the election to be halted. Acting leader of the party Harriet Harman responded by calling on constituency parties to check new members, but stated that Labour has "a robust system to prevent fraudulent or malicious applications." Labour MP Fabian Hamilton stated there was "no evidence" that groups were trying to infiltrate the election. Leadership candidates Andy Burnham and Liz Kendall also responded by saying there was no evidence of infiltration, and while not dismissing the claims, Corbyn stated he only wanted "genuine Labour supporters" to vote for him.


Rejected voters

It emerged in early August 2015 that 260 former candidates from the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundati ...
, Left Unity and the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition had attempted to become registered supporters but would now be blocked from voting. Shortly before this it was revealed that Conservative MP and former junior minister Tim Loughton had been caught applying to become a registered Labour supporter, subsequently claiming that his intention was to "blow the gaff on what a complete farce the whole thing is". Veteran Labour MP Barry Sheerman also joined calls for the election to be "paused" over the fears of infiltration by other parties. The Labour Party told representatives of the four candidates at a meeting on 11 August that 1,200 members and supporters of other parties had been excluded and a further 800 were under investigation. Harriet Harman at the time admitted that as many as 100,000 people may be blocked from voting. The number of those rejected would eventually reach 56,000, around 9.1% of the 610,753 considered eligible to vote at the start of the contest. According to the party, 45,000 of those were rejected for not being on the electoral register. Labour also confirmed that it would cancel supporters' votes after they had been cast if it was found that they were members of other parties. A number of high-profile individuals were blocked from voting, including Marcus Chown, Jeremy Hardy, Douglas Henshall, Ken Loach, Francesca Martinez, Mark Serwotka, Pete Sinclair, Mark Steel, Luke Wright and
Toby Young Toby Daniel Moorsom Young (born 17 October 1963) is a British social commentator. He is the founder and director of the Free Speech Union, an associate editor of '' The Spectator'', and a former associate editor at '' Quillette.'' A graduate ...
. Andrew MacKinlay, a former Labour MP, further alleged that Labour was attempting to rig its own leadership election against Corbyn; a view shared by comedian Jeremy Hardy. Such allegations became known to the media – and particularly Corbyn supporters – as the "Labour
Purge In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another organization, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group underta ...
", with #LabourPurge trending on Twitter. Claims of such a "purge" of Corbyn supporters were rejected by Harman who insisted that the exclusion processes were impartial to candidates. Scottish newspaper '' The National'' printed a page-long satirical cartoon speculating further vote-rigging by Labour's leadership.


Missing ballots

With less than 24 hours to go before the voting deadline, the party closed their telephone helpline. The move came during widespread complaints from "thousands" of voters who were missing emailed or physical ballot papers. ''The Guardian'' reported that one of their sources in the leadership camps stated that "the party has basically decided to stop taking calls and if you don't have a vote, you're now basically not getting one." The party refused to confirm how many ballot papers had actually been sent. Andy Burnham publicly criticised the number of missing ballots and the closure of the phone line. Labour MP David Lammy called for a full inquiry into the missing ballot papers. Of the 200 people his team phone called in London on the eve of the deadline, one in five were missing their ballots.


Debates


Television


Radio


Online


Opinion polling

The polls in this section have been undertaken by media pollsters known to use industry standard polling methods. The polls below were conducted after nominations for the leadership ballot closed. Where there is more than one line for a poll, this is for when a candidate has been eliminated and their second or third preference votes passed onto another candidate.


Polling of eligible voters

The polls below show voting intention amongst those eligible to vote in the leadership election.


July 2015


August 2015


Polling of Labour voters

The polls below asked Labour supporters across the country how they would vote in the leadership election if they were eligible.


Polling of British voters

The polls below asked voters across the country how they would vote in the leadership election if they were eligible.


Polling of London voters

The polls below asked voters in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
how they would vote in the leadership election if they were eligible.


Polling before close of nominations


Labour members

The polls below were conducted before nominations for the leadership closed and therefore include Labour politicians who were not in the final four candidates who were nominated.


Labour voters


Former Labour PPCs


British residents


Result

Turnout for the vote was 422,871 (76.3%) of the 554,272 eligible voters, with 207 spoilt ballots. 343,995 votes (81.3%) were cast online, the UK's largest online ballot.


Political reaction to the result


Domestic

;Labour Party
Ed Miliband Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliban ...
, former
party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...
, offered his support to Corbyn and urged other Labour MPs to do so, though he ruled himself out of taking on a position in Corbyn's shadow cabinet, to focus on representing his constituency. Kezia Dugdale, then leader of
Scottish Labour Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak o ...
, declared that "politics has changed" and people desired a "radical change", with Corbyn's election to the leadership showing that Labour had "listened to that call". Carwyn Jones, then leader of Welsh Labour and
First Minister of Wales , insignia = First Minister of Wales logo.png , insigniasize = 120px , insigniacaption = Logo , flag = Flag of Wales.svg , flagsize = 120px , flagborder = yes , flagcaption = Flag of Wales , image = File:Mark Drakeford (cropped).jpg , ...
, congratulated Corbyn and urged the party to embrace the fact that the campaign had "energised a huge number of people who were previously disengaged from party politics" and unite around their new leader. Corbyn's rivals for the leadership each reacted to the result. Andy Burnham said that
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the pol ...
was a politician with "very deep beliefs, very strong principles" which voters would embrace. Burnham later replaced Yvette Cooper as Shadow Home Secretary after she announced that she would not serve on a Labour frontbench led by Corbyn and that she would instead focus on playing a role in the upcoming EU membership referendum. Following the close of voting, Liz Kendall made a speech reflecting on her campaign stating that, after the New Labour government, there was never any debate in relation to the direction the party should go, and it had created a split "between the party and the country". All three of Corbyn's opponents in the leadership election stated they would support Corbyn, that the result should be accepted and the party should focus on attacking the Conservative government. During the announcement of Corbyn's victory,
Jamie Reed Jamieson Ronald "Jamie" Reed (born 4 August 1973) is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Copeland from 2005 to 2017. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Mini ...
resigned as a Shadow Health Minister, citing his difference in opinion, with the new leader, over the replacement of the Trident missile system. Chris Leslie (
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The title is given at the gift of the Leader of the Opposition an ...
), Yvette Cooper ( Shadow Home Secretary), Chuka Umunna ( Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills), Rachel Reeves ( Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions),
Emma Reynolds Emma Elizabeth Reynolds (born 2 November 1977) is a British Labour politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton North East from 2010 to 2019, and the Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in ...
( Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government),
Tristram Hunt Tristram Julian William Hunt, (born 31 May 1974) is a British historian, broadcast journalist and former politician who has been Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum since 2017. He served as the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Sto ...
( Shadow Secretary of State for Education), Mary Creagh ( Shadow Secretary of State for International Development) and Liz Kendall ( Shadow Minister for Care and Older People) also confirmed they would not serve in Corbyn's shadow cabinet. ;Conservative Party
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
, then leader of the Conservative Party and
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
, stated that Corbyn's win would make the Labour Party a threat "to our national security, to our economic security and to the security of your family". This echoed the same warning from other Cabinet ministers, including Michael Fallon, then Secretary of State for Defence, and from an email sent by Conservative Campaign Headquarters to party members. However Nick Hurd, former Minister for Civil Society, and Daniel Hannan, then MEP for
South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshi ...
, both warned their party against "complacency". Ruth Davidson, then leader of the Scottish Conservative Party, said that the result demonstrated that Labour had given up on being in government, and that many Labour MPs would show "despair at his appointment". ;UK Independence Party Nigel Farage, then leader of the
UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...
, congratulated Corbyn but added his concerns about the new Labour leader's immigration policies. Before Corbyn's win, Farage stated that Corbyn's "sweeping emergence on the Left of British politics, where he has helped re-engage many who had given up on politics, is a good thing for our democracy". ;Liberal Democrats Tim Farron, then leader of the Liberal Democrats, commented on the "massive space in the centre ground of British politics" that had been opened up, due to the perceived shift leftwards by Labour, and suggested that the Liberal Democrats would be able to appeal more directly to "sensible, moderate, progressives who are opposed to what the Conservatives are doing, but cannot bring themselves to support a party of the hard left". The President of the Liberal Democrats, Sal Brinton, accused Labour of abdicating "its responsibilities" as a party of effective opposition. Willie Rennie, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said that Corbyn's success meant a "return to the damaging see saw politics of the past". Kirsty Williams, leader of the
Welsh Liberal Democrats The Welsh Liberal Democrats ( cy, Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru) are a branch of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats that operates in Wales. The party is led by Jane Dodds, who served as MP for Brecon and Radnorshire from August to Decem ...
, attacked Corbyn as the "opposite of what this country needs", accusing Labour of returning to its 1970s policies. ;Green Party of England and Wales
Natalie Bennett Natalie Louise Bennett, Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (born 10 February 1966) is a Australian-British politician and journalist who served as Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2012 to 2016. Bennett was given a peerage in ...
, then leader of the
Green Party of England and Wales The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; cy, Plaid Werdd Cymru a Lloegr, kw, Party Gwer Pow an Sowson ha Kembra, often simply the Green Party or Greens) is a green, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Ca ...
released a statement saying that her party would be "delighted" to work with Corbyn on a range of issues where they share common ground. ;Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party and
First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chair ...
, praised Corbyn on winning the leadership contest but claimed that Labour's failure to defeat the Conservatives at the
next general election This is a list of the next general elections around the world in democratic polities. The general elections listed are for the government of each jurisdiction. These elections determine the Prime Minister and makeup of the legislature in a parli ...
would further the cause for Scottish independence and leave the SNP as the only real opposition. ;Plaid Cymru Leanne Wood, then leader of
Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...
congratulated Corbyn and urged the Labour Party to join with her party's MPs in opposing "Tory policies that are causing great harm to people in Wales and beyond". ;Social Democratic and Labour Party Alasdair McDonnell, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party commended Corbyn on an "incredible election campaign" and urged him to work towards returning Labour to an electable position, as well as opposing Conservative policies. ;Ulster Unionist Party Mike Nesbitt, then leader of the
Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule ...
called on Corbyn to maintain Labour's policy towards
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...
and "support agreements brought forward by the local parties".


International

* – Then President
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (; born 19 February 1953), often referred to by her initials CFK, is an Argentine lawyer and politician who has served as the Vice President of Argentina since 2019. She also served as the President ...
sent her congratulations to Corbyn, hailing him as "a great friend of Latin America". * – The country's governing party, Syriza, released a statement welcoming the election of Corbyn and arguing that the result would strengthen the "pan-European front against austerity". * –
Gerry Adams Gerard Adams ( ga, Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2 ...
, the President of
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
, tweeted his words of congratulation to Corbyn. * – Alexander Yakovenko, the Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, said that he hoped that Corbyn's election would create a "positive change" in the debate around Russia-United Kingdom relations. * – Íñigo Errejón, the Political Secretary of Podemos, described the result as being part of a "wave of change" across Northern Europe. * –
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
Bernie Sanders, a
candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * ...
for the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
's nomination for president in the
2016 U.S. presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial United States presidential election, presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald ...
, announced that he was "delighted to see that the British Labour Party has elected
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the pol ...
as its new leader." He added: "We need leadership in every country in the world which tells the billionaire class that they cannot have it all. We need economies that work for working families, not just the people on top."


Analysis

Nobel prize-winning economist
Paul Krugman Paul Robin Krugman ( ; born February 28, 1953) is an American economist, who is Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and a columnist for ''The New York Times''. In 2008, Krugman was t ...
said that it was not surprising that
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the pol ...
won the leadership contest, as all the candidates except for Corbyn essentially supported the Conservative government's austerity policies. As Krugman noted, not only the candidates but also the Labour moderates implicitly agreed with their opponents' idea that the government budget should always be balanced by the austerity policies.Labour’s Dead Center
, P. Krugman, The Opinion Pages, The New York Times, 14 Sep 2015
Krugman argued that it was a false claim that the Labour party, in power during 1997–2010, spent far beyond their means and caused a debt crisis. Economist Joseph Stiglitz, also a Nobel prize winner, argued that the Labour party platform was different from what a leftist party must do, saying that Labour had not opposed austerity programmes. He added that Corbyn's camp offered a left-wing agenda and therefore Stiglitz was not surprised at all that Corbyn became the contender for the leadership contest.Joseph Stiglitz: unsurprising Jeremy Corbyn is a Labour leadership contender
, T. Macalister, The Guardian, Politics, 26 Jul 2015


See also

* 2015 Labour Party deputy leadership election *
London Labour Party mayoral selection, 2015 The London Labour Party mayoral selection of 2015 was the process by which the Labour Party selected its candidate for Mayor of London, to stand in the mayoral election on 5 May 2016. It was the first Mayoral selection process since 2002 not to ...
* 2015 Scottish Labour Party leadership election *
2015 Liberal Democrats leadership election The 2015 Liberal Democrats leadership election was held on 16 July 2015 following the resignation of Nick Clegg as leader on 8 May 2015, after almost eight years as leader of the Liberal Democrats, following the party's poor performance at the ...
*
2016 Conservative Party leadership election The 2016 Conservative Party leadership election was held due to Prime Minister David Cameron's resignation as party leader. He had resigned after losing the national referendum to leave the European Union. Cameron, who supported Britain's cont ...
* 2016 Labour Party leadership election (UK) * Political party affiliation in the United Kingdom


References


External links

{{UK Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn Andy Burnham Labour Party leadership election Labour Party leadership election Labour Party leadership election 2015 Labour Party leadership election (UK) Labour Party leadership election Labour Party leadership election