2020 Labour Party leadership election (UK)

Immediately following the 2019 general election, Keir Starmer, the Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, was considered favourite to win the leadership election by the online gambling company Betfair.[16][17] Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary, was considered another front runner.[18] Various other figures were considered as possible leadership candidates, including Lisa Nandy, the MP for Wigan, who said on 15 December 2019 that she was "seriously thinking" about standing for the leadership.[19] On 29 December, Long-Bailey wrote an article for The Guardian declaring her interest in standing and laying out her strategy for a "progressive patriotism".[20]

Some party figures, including the former MP Caroline Flint and the MP Wes Streeting, argued for a "clean break" from the previous leadership. However, Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite the Union, said that the next leader should "carry on the tradition", describing Long-Bailey and Angela Rayner as his preferred candidates.[21][22] Party figures affiliated with Long-Bailey and MPs such as Corbyn, as well as centrist figures like Alastair Campbell, encouraged supporters of their preferred candidates to join the party to vote in the leadership election.[23][24] Roy Hattersley, a former deputy leader of the party, wrote on 21 December that MPs should refuse to accept Long-Bailey if she were elected leader.[25]

The shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, was the first to announce, on 18 December, that she was standing for the leadership.[26] She laid out her pitch in an article for The Guardian.[27] She said that her first priority would be to deal with antisemitism in the party by implementing recommendations from the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Jewish Labour Movement and the Equality and Human Rights Commission.[28] She criticised Corbyn's senior advisers for overruling her as the shadow foreign secretary and for their strategic decisions in the 2019 general election.[29][30]

Clive Lewis, the shadow minister for sustainable economics, announced on 19 December that he would stand.[31] He said that as leader, he would give more democratic power in the party to its members.[32] He argued that the party should work more with other political parties on the left, and proposed constitutional reforms including supporting proportional representation and reform of the House of Lords.[33][34] In January 2020, he proposed a referendum about the future of the British royal family.[35] He was criticised for his response to claims against him of sexual harassment, for which he had been cleared by a disciplinary body within Labour, which "seemed unapologetic".[36]

Jess Phillips announced her candidacy in Grimsby on 3 January 2020.[37] She criticised the party's approach to Brexit and Scottish independence, saying that she was opposed to a second referendum on Scottish independence.[38] She said that she would be open to arguing for the UK to rejoin the European Union.[39][40] Criticising the party's manifesto at the 2019 general election, Phillips said that she would support nationalising railways but would not prioritise further nationalisation.[40]

Nandy announced that she would stand in a letter to the Wigan Post on the same day as Phillips.[41] She argued that the party needed a "bridge" to join areas in northern England where the party was losing seats and metropolitan areas where the party was gaining support.[19]

Starmer, who a poll had indicated was the most popular potential candidate heading into the leadership election, announced his candidacy with a video posted to social media on 4 January followed by a launch in Stevenage.[42][43]

Long-Bailey announced that she would stand in an article for Tribune magazine on 6 January.[44] Long-Bailey was seen by many observers and party colleagues as the continuity candidate, who would have continued to take the party in the same direction as Corbyn.[45][46][47][48] While she disputed the description,[49][50] her campaign stressed ideological continuity with Corbyn.[51][52] She attracted attention for rating Corbyn "ten out of ten" as a politician,[53] and called for constitutional reform to spread power more evenly across the country, including abolishing the House of Lords.[38][54]

Parliamentary

Candidates first needed to receive nominations from at least 5 per cent of the party's MPs and MEPs to progress to the second round of nominations. Starmer won the support of enough MPs and MEPs to progress to the next round of nominations on 8 January, when he was also endorsed by the trade union Unison.[55] The following day, Long-Bailey, Nandy and Phillips got enough MP and MEP nominations to progress.[56]

The deadline for PLP and EPLP nominations was 2.30 pm on 13 January.[57] Lewis, with only five nominations including himself, withdrew from the contest shortly before the deadline.[58] Thornberry was also short of the required nominations at the beginning of the day, but managed to obtain enough to qualify less than ten minutes before the deadline, helped by MPs who had formerly nominated Lewis.[59] After the close of nominations, the party announced that Long-Bailey, Nandy, Phillips, Starmer and Thornberry would proceed to the next stage of the election.[60] Starmer received 88 nominations, more than any other candidate, followed by Long-Bailey with 33 and Nandy with 31.[61] Phillips and Thornberry were each nominated by 23 MPs and MEPs, one more than the minimum requirement of 22. Shortly after these nominations were published, Starmer was heavily favoured in the betting odds.[59]

Constituencies and affiliates

Nandy, Starmer and Long-Bailey at the Bristol hustings on 1 February 2020

Corbyn-supporting group Momentum balloted its members on a proposal that the group endorse Long-Bailey (alongside Angela Rayner for deputy). Of the 7,395 respondents 70 per cent backed Long-Bailey, but the organisation was criticised by commentators[62][63][64] and by some Momentum members for not giving the option to endorse other candidates.[65]

Starmer became the first candidate to qualify for the ballot on 20 January with his third affiliate nomination, from the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers;[66] by that point, he was also leading in nominations from Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs). Phillips withdrew from the election on 21 January, saying that she was unable to unite the party.[67] Nandy became the second candidate to quality for the ballot on 22 January, having received backing from the GMB and National Union of Mineworkers unions and the Chinese for Labour socialist society.[68] Long-Bailey was the third candidate to qualify, following further trade union support.

However, Thornberry failed to achieve enough nominations, falling just short of the required number of constituency party nominations and being eliminated on 15 February 2020.[69]

Reported data breach

The Labour Party reported two members of Starmer's campaign to the Information Commissioner's Office on 6 February of hacking into the party's membership database. The campaign described the complaint as "utter nonsense". The campaign chair, Jenny Chapman, suggested that the allegations were a result of the Starmer team alerting party officials the week before to a possible data breach by Long-Bailey's campaign, though there is no evidence that this occurred.

The first public hustings to feature the final three candidates was held in Glasgow, Scotland on 15 February.[70]

The following individuals were nominated by the necessary number of Labour MPs and MEPs as well as receiving backing from the required number of constituency parties or affiliated organisations to proceed to the final ballot before members.

Candidate	Born	Political office	Campaign	Announced	Nominated
Rebecca Long-Bailey	22 September 1979 Old Trafford, Greater Manchester	Shadow business secretary (2017–2020) MP for Salford and Eccles (2015–present) Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury (2016–2017) Shadow Treasury minister (2015–2016)	Website	6 January 2020	29 January 2020
Lisa Nandy	9 August 1979 Manchester, England	MP for Wigan (2010–present) Shadow energy secretary (2015–2016)	Website	3 January 2020	22 January 2020
Keir Starmer	2 September 1962 Southwark, London	Shadow Brexit secretary (2016–2020) MP for Holborn and St Pancras (2015–present) Shadow immigration minister (2015–2016)	Website	4 January 2020	20 January 2020

Emily Thornberry failed to receive backing from the required number of constituency parties and affiliated organisations.

Candidate	Born	Political office	Campaign	Announced	Eliminated
Emily Thornberry	27 July 1960 Guildford, Surrey	Shadow First Secretary of State (2017–2020) Shadow foreign secretary (2016–2020) MP for Islington South and Finsbury (2005–present) Shadow Brexit secretary (2016) Shadow defence secretary (2016) Shadow employment minister (2015–2016) Shadow Attorney General (2011–2014)	Website	18 December 2019	15 February 2020

The following candidates withdrew either during the process to receive nominations from MPs and MEPs or during the process to receive nominations from constituency parties or affiliated organisations.

Candidate	Born	Political office	Campaign	Announced	Withdrew
Clive Lewis	11 September 1971 London, England	Shadow treasury minister (2018–2020) MP for Norwich South (2015–present) Shadow business secretary (2016–2017) Shadow defence secretary (2016)	Website	19 December 2019	13 January 2020
Jess Phillips	9 October 1981 Birmingham, England	MP for Birmingham Yardley (2015–present)	Website	3 January 2020	21 January 2020 (Endorsed Nandy)

The following individuals were discussed in the media as potential leadership candidates, but chose not to stand:

• Diane Abbott, Shadow Home Secretary[71] (endorsed Long-Bailey)
• Yvette Cooper, chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee since 2016[72] (endorsed Starmer)[73]
• Barry Gardiner, shadow international trade secretary[74] (endorsed Long-Bailey)[75]
• Dan Jarvis, MP for Barnsley Central, Mayor of the Sheffield City Region[76][77] (nominated Nandy)
• David Lammy, former universities minister[78] (endorsed Starmer)[79]
• Ian Lavery, Chair of the Labour Party[80] (endorsed Long-Bailey)[81]
• John McDonnell, shadow chancellor (endorsed Long-Bailey)[82]
• Angela Rayner, shadow education secretary (standing for deputy leader, endorsed Long-Bailey)[83]

• 12 December: Labour loses 60 seats in the 2019 United Kingdom general election
• 13 December: Jeremy Corbyn announces his resignation as leader of the Labour Party effective the outcome of the 2020 leadership election
• 18 December: Emily Thornberry announces her candidacy
• 19 December: Clive Lewis announces his candidacy

• 3 January: Jess Phillips and Lisa Nandy announce their candidacies
• 4 January: Keir Starmer announces his candidacy
• 6 January: Rebecca Long-Bailey announces her candidacy
• 7 January: Nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) and European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP) open[14]
• 13 January:
  • Lewis withdraws his candidacy
  • Parliamentary nominations close at 14:30; Long-Bailey, Nandy, Phillips, Starmer and Thornberry proceed to the next stage[88]
• 15 January: Nominations from constituency parties (CLPs) and affiliate organisations open
• 18 January: The first leadership hustings is held in Liverpool
• 20 January: Starmer receives the required number of nominations to progress to the membership ballot[66]
• 21 January: Phillips withdraws her candidacy[67]
• 22 January:
  • Nandy receives the required number of nominations to progress to the membership ballot[68]
  • Phillips endorses Nandy
• 29 January: Long-Bailey receives the required number of nominations to progress to the membership ballot[89]

• 12 February: The first televised debate is held during a special edition of Newsnight[90]
• 15 February: Constituency and affiliate nominations close at midnight; Thornberry fails to receive the required number of nominations and is eliminated
• 24 February: Labour Party members start receiving postal ballots and online voting forms

• 2 April: Voting closes at midday
• 4 April: Result of the membership ballot announced at 10:45 am[91] Keir Starmer declared the new Leader of the Labour Party[14] and becomes Leader of the Opposition with 56.2 per cent of ballots cast

Long-Bailey created a four-point plan titled "Aspirational socialism"; empower the movement and raise trade union membership; a "Democratic Revolution" and; a "Green Industrial Revolution".[92][93] Long-Bailey promised that she would continue to develop the "Green New Deal" policies that she had introduced to the party's 2019 election manifesto.[94] On democratic reform, Long-Bailey called for constitutional reform to spread power more evenly across the country, including abolishing the House of Lords.[95]

Long-Bailey stated that if she were to win the leadership election the Labour Party would maintain its commitment to bring energy, water, rail and mail back into public ownership.[96] She has also supported open selection as a process of selection for Labour MPs.[97]

Long-Bailey and her platform were described by the media as "continuity Corbyn" because of her closeness to Corbyn, Momentum and the left of the Labour party, although she rejected the label.[98][99]

In response to the release of U.S. President Donald Trump's peace plan to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Long-Bailey criticised the proposals, stating that they would "only perpetuate conflict" and "undermine rights of the Palestinian people".[100]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Long-Bailey made several recommendations to the government. She advocated the government look at a universal basic income for all people in the United Kingdom regardless of wealth,[101] and to eliminate the five-week waiting time before claimants can receive Universal Credit.[98] Later in March, she advocated a National Food Service, where workers from Royal Mail deliver basic goods like food, medicine and toiletries to households to reduce pressure on supermarkets.[102] In an article, Long-Bailey advocated that the government should buy shares in key industries and put these shares into a "social wealth fund". She stated that: "This crisis should make us realise that we’re all connected – that the chief executive relies on the refuse worker, the corporate lawyer on the supermarket worker, and the politician on the nurse. And this realisation should power how we rebuild our economy when the crisis is over."[103]

Long-Bailey was the first candidate to publish a list of donors to her campaign, with primary funding coming from trade unions Unite (£215,000) and the Communication Workers Union (£52,000), plus small individual donations solicited from members of left-wing organisation Momentum (£120,000).[104]

In January, Nandy accused the Blair and Brown governments of continuing the "consensus that Thatcher built".[105] She criticised New Labour for being "as tight as the Tories". She called for "a modern, empowering welfare state for the 21st century".[106] She praised Corbyn for shifting party policy towards a position that opposes austerity[106] and stated her intention to abolish Universal Credit.[107][108]

During the party hustings held in Bristol, Nandy argued that the honours system should have references to the British Empire removed, and instead replaced with 'Excellence'.[109]

Nandy defended free movement within the European Union, while also arguing that concerns about its flaws should not be simply dismissed as "racist anti-immigrant rhetoric".[110]

Nandy is opposed to Scottish independence and argued that Labour should "look to Catalonia and Quebec" as examples for dealing with "divisive nationalism",[111] later clarifying that the party can learn from the Socialist Party in Spain that has show how "the cause of social justice has beaten divisive nationalism".[112] She has said she wants Scottish Labour to be represented in the shadow cabinet[113] and has also pledged not to interfere in devolved policymaking, allowing Scottish Labour to decide their own approach to independence.[114] She also stated that British federalism would not resolve the political division between England and Scotland.[115]

In February, deputy leadership candidate Richard Burgon proposed a "Peace Pledge" to ensure that the party would not support future military action unless its members vote in favour of such a policy.[116] Nandy voiced her strong disapproval of the pledge. She argued that civilians in war zones could not afford to wait for such a ballot to pass and it was irresponsible to share such classified information.[117]

In an interview with The Jewish Chronicle, Nandy acknowledged that the party had lost the trust of the British Jewish community as a result of its "failure of leadership" and poor handling of antisemitism in the Party. She also said that she believed that the word 'Zionism' had become "horribly distorted and weaponised" by some in the party; Nandy denounced those who questioned Israel's right to exist and reiterated her view that advocating the rights of Palestinians does not contradict support for Israel.[118] She has chaired Labour Friends of Palestine since 2018.[119]

When she spoke to the Evening Standard in January, Nandy called on party general secretary Jennie Formby to publish the evidence that had been submitted to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, as part of the commission's investigation into institutional antisemitism in the party. She added that openness and transparency would necessary to rebuild trust with the British Jewish community.[120]

Nandy said that she would conduct a "fair recruitment process" for parliamentary candidates and end the practice of "parachuting" those favoured by the leadership. She criticised the centralised approach taken during the 2019 general election, in which a number of candidates were "imposed" by Corbyn and his allies.[121] Nandy has also stated that she would end the practice of nominating peers to the House of Lords. This announcement came after the Labour Party controversially nominated John Bercow, former Commons Speaker, and Karie Murphy, Corbyn's former chief of staff.[121][122]

During a speech in Bassetlaw, one of the "red wall" constituencies gained by the Conservatives in 2019, Nandy announced that a future shadow cabinet led by her would involve the representation of local Labour councillors, giving a seat to the elected Leader of the Local Government Association Labour Group.[121][123] She also pledged that she would give councillors the right to nominate candidates in future leadership elections, just as MPs and MEPs had during the previous month.[123]

Nandy expressed opposition to open selection and in favour of the current method for selection of Labour MPs.[124]

Nandy released a list of donors to her leadership campaign, which was principally supported by the GMB trade union and featured four private donations of over £10,000 from individuals including her husband Andrew Collis, businessmen Jason Stockwood and Tom Shutes, and Hope Not Hate chair Simon Tuttle.[125]

Starmer has positioned himself in opposition to austerity, stating that Corbyn was "right" to position Labour as the "party of anti-austerity".[126][127] Starmer has indicated he will continue with the Labour policy of scrapping tuition fees. He has also pledged to renationalise the railways, Royal Mail, water companies and the energy companies. Starmer has called for ending outsourcing in the NHS, local government and justice system.[128]

In February 2020, Starmer announced that he would continue the policy introduced under shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, to raise taxes on the top five per cent of earners with incomes of more than £80,000.[129][130]

Starmer has argued that the party should propose the reintroduction of free movement within the European Union.[131]

In response to the release of Trump's peace plan to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Starmer described the proposals as "inconsistent with international law and human rights protections".[100]

Starmer has said he is "not against the principle" of open selection but has not indicated clear support or opposition to it.[132]

Starmer's leadership campaign gained funding from trade union Unison, [133] and donations from several individuals, including £100,000 and £5,000 respectively from barristers Robert Latham and Richard Hermer, as well as hotel bills totalling £2,500 from a company linked to Labour donor Farah Sassoon.[134]

Several hustings events took place throughout the campaign, for both leadership and deputy leadership candidates.[135] Labour-organised hustings took place on weekends throughout January and February 2020, at 11 locations in Great Britain. No hustings were held in Northern Ireland.[136]

Date	Host	Moderator	Venue	Map
18 January 2020	Labour Party	Liam Thorp (Political Editor, Liverpool Echo)	Arena and Convention Centre, Liverpool[137]	Nottingham Dudley Liverpool Bristol Cardiff Glasgow London Manchester Peterborough Wyboston Durham Brighton
25 January 2020 (cancelled)	Labour Party	—	Royal Armouries, Leeds[138]
26 January 2020[lower-alpha 1]	Open Labour	Rachel Shabi (journalist and author)	Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham[139]
1 February 2020	Labour Party	Doina Cornell (Leader of Stroud District Council)	Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol[140]
2 February 2020	Labour Party	Ruth Mosalski (Political Editor, Wales Online)	City Hall, Cardiff[141]
8 February 2020[lower-alpha 2]	LGA Labour Group	Nick Forbes (Leader of Newcastle City Council)	University of Nottingham, Nottingham
13 February 2020	Jewish Labour Movement	Robert Peston (Political Editor, ITV News)	Liberal Jewish Synagogue, St John's Wood[142]
15 February 2020	Labour Party	Cara Hilton (Chair of the Scottish Labour Party)	SEC Centre, Glasgow[70]
16 February 2020	Co-operative Party	Chanté Joseph (journalist)	Business Design Centre, Islington[143]
16 February 2020 (cancelled)	National Education Union	Kevin Courtney (General Secretary of the NEU)	University College London, Bloomsbury
18 February 2020	LGBT+ Labour	Benjamin Cohen (Chief Executive, PinkNews)	Manchester Central, Manchester[144]
22 February 2020	Labour Party	Stephen Bush (Political Editor, New Statesman)	Holiday Inn, Peterborough[145]
22 February 2020	Labour Party	Vaughan West (Chair of Labour East)	Wyboston Lakes, Wyboston[146]
23 February 2020	Labour Party	David Anderson, (former MP for Blaydon)	Radisson Blu Hotel, Durham[147]
25 February 2020	The Guardian	Anushka Asthana, (Editor-at-large, The Guardian)	Manchester Central, Manchester[148]
29 February 2020	Labour Party	Fatima Manji, (presenter, Channel 4 News)	Grand Brighton Hotel, Brighton[149]
4 March 2020	Labour Women's Network	Jacqui Smith, (former Home Secretary)	Seven Dials Club, Covent Garden[150]
8 March 2020	Daily Mirror	Alison Phillips (Editor, Daily Mirror)	Town Hall, Dudley[151]

The locations sparked criticism from some candidates because of lack of geographic spread.[152] After the backlash, two new events in Leeds and Brighton were later added by Labour's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC), although the one in Leeds was subsequently cancelled after Starmer dropped out due to his mother-in-law being critically ill.[138] The Guardian also announced that it would host a hustings in Manchester on 22 February, chaired by journalist Anushka Asthana.[153] Starmer's mother-in-law passed away on 9 February, resulting in the postponement of the Dudley hustings scheduled for that day,[154] which later took place on 8 March 2020 as the final hustings.[151]

On 12 February, a debate took place on Newsnight, moderated by presenter Katie Razzall and broadcast on BBC Two. A second debate was held the following day, moderated by Victoria Derbyshire on her programme, followed by a third one chaired by Krishnan Guru-Murthy on Channel 4 News.

• Grace Blakeley, economics commentator[155]
• Momentum[156]
• Maxine Peake, actress[157]
• Mark Serwotka, leader of the PCS trade union[158]
• Colin Burgon, former MP[159]

• Tom Copley, London Assembly member[160]
• Tony Cunningham, former MP for Workington and former minister[160]
• Peter Hain, Labour peer, former MP for Neath and former minister[160]
• Ian McCartney, former MP for Makerfield[160]
• Melanie Onn, former MP for Great Grimsby (previously endorsed Jess Phillips)[161]
• Jack McConnell, Labour peer and former first minister of Scotland[162]
• George Monbiot, writer and environmental and political activist[163]
• Estelle Morris, Labour peer, former MP for Birmingham Yardley and former minister[160]
• Catherine McKinnell, Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North (previously endorsed Jess Phillips)[164]
• Ann Taylor, Labour peer, former MP for Dewsbury and former minister[160]
• Open Labour, activist group operating within the Labour Party, but not an official affiliate[165]

• Andrew Adonis, Labour peer[166]
• Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister[167]
• Jenny Chapman, former MP for Darlington[168]
• Vernon Coaker, former MP for Gedling and former minister[169]
• Nic Dakin, former MP for Scunthorpe[170]
• Alf Dubs, Labour peer and former MP for Battersea[171]
• Evening Standard, London newspaper and online news service[172]
• David Hanson, former MP for Delyn and former minister[173]
• Lesley Laird, former Deputy Leader of Scottish Labour and former MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath[174]
• Emma Reynolds, former MP for Wolverhampton North East[175]
• Carwyn Jones, former First Minister of Wales[176]
• Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London[177]
• Doreen Lawrence, Labour peer, campaigner and mother of Stephen Lawrence[178]
• Paul Mason, journalist and broadcaster (second choice after his support for Lewis)[48]
• Jeremy Miles, Counsel General for Wales and AM for Neath[176]
• Sally Phillips, actress[179]
• Jack Sargeant, AM for Alyn and Deeside[176]
• Ricky Tomlinson, actor[180]

Clive Lewis was endorsed by the journalist and broadcaster Paul Mason before he withdrew.[48] Before she withdrew, Jess Phillips was endorsed by the journalist and former Spectator editor Matthew d'Ancona, Labour MP Margaret Hodge,[181] the Labour peer Philip Hunt and Melanie Onn, the former MP for Great Grimsby.[182][183][184]

A poll was also conducted to garner the prospective voting intentions of the public for the Labour Party under each leadership candidate in a general election.