Voting has opened in the Labour Leadership Election to replace outgoing leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr Corbyn announced he would not be taking the party into the next election following Labour’s large losses in the 2019 General Election on December 12.
Labour party members now have until April 2 to vote for who they would like to be the next party leader, with the results expected to be announced at a special conference on April 4, 2020. Members can also vote for the next person to be Deputy Leader, following Tom Watson’s resignation last year.
Who is standing?
Sir Kier Starmer, Lisa Nandy and Rebecca Long-Bailey are on the ballot paper for the leadership, having already obtained enough nominations and support from unions and affiliated groups.
Rosena Allin-Khan, Richard Burgon, Dawn Butler, Ian Murray and Angela Rayner are all in the running to be the party’s next deputy leader.
How do I vote?
Party members who registered to vote between 14&16 January 2020 will be eligible to vote, as will new party members and affiliate supporters joining and registering by 20 January. Members can vote via email if they have registered an email address with the party or can vote using a postal ballot delivered to their home instead.
The cost to register to vote was £25, the same as in 2016 when more than 500,00 voted.
How does voting work?
Voting for both the Labour Leadership and Deputy Labour Leadership elections work on a preferential system, so voters have to rank candidates in order of preference.
If nobody receives more than half of the first preference votes, second preference votes of the lowest-ranked candidate will be redistributed until the contest produces a winner.
Who will be in the new Shadow Cabinet?
It will be up to the new leader to decide who is in the new Shadow Cabinet. Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbot has announced she will stand down from the Shadow Cabinet once a new leader is in place, as has Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.
Outgoing leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would consider serving in the shadow cabinet if offered a position by the new leader.
Photo: A Labour rally in Middlesbrough in December 2019 | Credit: Jeremy Corbyn via Flickr under licence (CC BY 2.0)
