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Burnham, Cooper enter Labour leadership race

Thursday, 14 May 2015 1:29 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 14 May 2015 1:29 PM ]

Race begins to replace Labour leader

Former cabinet ministers, Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper, have announced that they will stand for the Labour party leadership, joining Liz Kendal and Chuka Umunna.

The Labour party have said that a leader will not be chosen until September, which will mean a long period of soul searching within the party as potential leaders vie for the top spot.

Party stalwart and long-time deputy leader, Harriet Harman, has said that “ the challenge now is to use this time to listen and learn, to elect a new leader and deputy leader who will rebuild the Labour Party in order to take the fight to this Tory government and to stand up for Britain."

Announcing his bid for the leadership, health spokesman Andy Burnham made a conscious nod in the direction of new Labour and the era of Tony Blair. He said he wants to help the Labour party “rediscover its beating heart…that is about the aspirations of everyone, speaking to them like we did in 1997."

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, wife of former shadow chancellor Ed Balls who lost his seat at the election, believes the party needs to match the ambitions of people across the country. She has said, “Labour lost because we didn't convince enough people in all parts of the country that we had the answers to match up with their ambitions…our promise of hope wasn't strong enough to drown out the Tory and UKIP voices of fear. That's what we need to change."

The likes of Peter Mandelson and Tony Blair have become increasingly more vocal since Labour’s defeat as they try to nudge the party back on the new Labour path. But there are those who want to halt this apparent swing to the centre ground of the party. Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, believes "Labour didn't lose votes by proposing to tax the wealthiest a bit more, or intervene in the housing and energy markets. It did lose support because of its muddled message on austerity."

LM/SKL

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