Who will succeed Jeremy Corbyn and how does a Labour leadership contest work? – The Independent

The battle to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader is already in full swing after the party suffered its worst defeat at the ballot box since 1935.

Mr Corbyn said he would stay in place until another leader has been appointed but contenders for the Labour crown are already jockeying for position behind the scenes.

As the contest gets under way,The Independent takes a look at how the Labour Party elects itsleader.

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

When will the leadership contest take place?

The timetable for the leadership race will be decided by Labours ruling body, the national executive committee (NEC), which ismade up of MPs, trade union officials and members.

Contests can take months but John McDonnell said it was likely to take between eighr and 10 weeks, which means there could be a new Labour leader in place by March.

TheNEC will certainly want a new leader in place ahead of the local election in May 2020.

Corbyn has said he will remain in place until a replacement is found, as there is no deputy leader to fill his shoes after Tom Watson stood down as an MP.

The party rulebook says when both the deputy leader and the leader are permanently unavailable, the NECwill conduct a postal ballot of members and could appoint a temporary leader from the shadow cabinet.

Who can stand?

Only Labour MPs can stand to be leader. Under the rules, candidates must secure backing from 10 per cent of the parliamentary Labour party and the European parliamentary Labour party.

However, the EPLP will cease to exist if the UK leaves the EU on 31 January, so it is unlikely that contenders can count on the backing of MEPs to get on the ballot paper.

Any would-be leaders also need support from 5 per cent of constituency parties or 5 per cent of affiliated groups, two of which must be trade unions.

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The shadow education secretary is likely to be in the mix for the partys leadership after Corbyns resignation. Rayner was brought up on a council estate, left her local comprehensive school with no qualifications, and gave birth to her first son, Ryan, at the age of 16. She rose through the ranks of the trade union movement to become the most senior elected official of Unison before being elected to her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency in 2015. In her current role she spearheaded Labours national education service and has championed the abolition of tuition fees. After the devastating election result unfolded, Ms Rayner said: Thank you to all our volunteers, staff and activists who have worked their socks off. I know the exit poll is incredible devastating but we will continue to keep faith in our great movement and the UK." - Ashley Cowburn

PA

A key ally of the current left-wing leadership of the party, the Salford & Eccles MP is viewed in some quarters as the natural successor to Mr Corbyn and describes herself as a proud socialist. Highly regarded by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell. She won also won plaudits for her performance filling in for Corbyn both at prime ministers questions and during the general election debates.The shadow business secretary grew up by Old Trafford football ground and began her working life serving at the counter of a pawn shop. As the polls unfolded, she would not be drawn on whether she wanted to be the partys leader. Its not something that Im thinking about, I think we need to get through tonight, see where the chips fall and then we will re-group as a party, asses whats happened and what the next steps need to be, she said. - Ashley Cowburn

PA

The former director of public prosecutions undoubtedly has ambitions to lead the party, and is highly-regarded by both left-wingers and centrists in the party. As Labours shadow Brexit secretary, he played a key role in the partys eventual backing of a second referendum. Before becoming an MP, he was a human rights lawyer - conducting cases in international courts including the European Court of Human Rights.In June this year, a YouGov poll of party members found he was the narrow favourite in terms of being a good leader if Jeremy Corbyn stood down before the next election, ahead of Thornberry.Speaking after his re-election in Holborn & St Pancras, he said: There is no hiding from the overall result. It is devastating. It will hurt the millions of people who so desperately need a Labour government. They have suffered so much under ten years of Tory austerity and will suffer more because of this result. We must now reflect; we must also rebuild. - Ashley Cowburn

EPA

The MP for Birmingham Yardley has been a prominent critic of the Labour leadership, and said at her victory speech in the early hours of Friday morning that it was clear her party needed structural change. The reality is that the Labour Party has got to do a huge amount more than just think getting rid of one man will just simply make it OK, she added.Before being elected to parliament, Phillips worked for Womens Aid, supporting female victims of domestic abuse. She has previously suggested she would run for the leadership should the position become vacant, but given the left-wing membership of the Labour Party, Phillips would likely find it difficult to gain traction in any leadership contest. - Ashley Cowburn

PA

Corbyns constituency neighbour and friend, Emily Thornberry, has been critical of the partys Brexit stance, but has remained loyal to the leadership and has represented the Labour Party on various overseas visits. The 59-year-old was brought up on a council estate near Guildford in Surrey by her mother when her father, a human rights lawyer and academic, walked out on his family. "I was born into the Labour Party," she once said. "I was delivering leaflets by the age I could reach the letter box.First elected as MP for Islington South in 2005, the shadow foreign secretary is likely to be considering a bid for the leadership, but the party may be looking for a leadership outside its London stronghold.After winning back her seat in same venue as Corbyn, she said: We may be hurting tonight but we are not beaten. We will tell Boris Johnson no our fight is not over, our fight is just starting. - Ashley Cowburn

Reuters

Cooper came third in the Labour leadership election in 2015, with just 19 per cent of the vote share dwarfed by Corbyns 59%. But Cooper, who has maintained a high-profile in recent years as chair of the Commons home affairs committee for grilling ministers, could attempt a second shot at the leadership. Unlike the other possible contenders, Cooper, who has been an MP since 1997, has experience in government having served as chief secretary to the Treasury and secretary of state for work and pensions under Gordon Brown. - Ashley Cowburn

Reuters

The shadow education secretary is likely to be in the mix for the partys leadership after Corbyns resignation. Rayner was brought up on a council estate, left her local comprehensive school with no qualifications, and gave birth to her first son, Ryan, at the age of 16. She rose through the ranks of the trade union movement to become the most senior elected official of Unison before being elected to her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency in 2015. In her current role she spearheaded Labours national education service and has championed the abolition of tuition fees. After the devastating election result unfolded, Ms Rayner said: Thank you to all our volunteers, staff and activists who have worked their socks off. I know the exit poll is incredible devastating but we will continue to keep faith in our great movement and the UK." - Ashley Cowburn

PA

A key ally of the current left-wing leadership of the party, the Salford & Eccles MP is viewed in some quarters as the natural successor to Mr Corbyn and describes herself as a proud socialist. Highly regarded by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell. She won also won plaudits for her performance filling in for Corbyn both at prime ministers questions and during the general election debates.The shadow business secretary grew up by Old Trafford football ground and began her working life serving at the counter of a pawn shop. As the polls unfolded, she would not be drawn on whether she wanted to be the partys leader. Its not something that Im thinking about, I think we need to get through tonight, see where the chips fall and then we will re-group as a party, asses whats happened and what the next steps need to be, she said. - Ashley Cowburn

PA

The former director of public prosecutions undoubtedly has ambitions to lead the party, and is highly-regarded by both left-wingers and centrists in the party. As Labours shadow Brexit secretary, he played a key role in the partys eventual backing of a second referendum. Before becoming an MP, he was a human rights lawyer - conducting cases in international courts including the European Court of Human Rights.In June this year, a YouGov poll of party members found he was the narrow favourite in terms of being a good leader if Jeremy Corbyn stood down before the next election, ahead of Thornberry.Speaking after his re-election in Holborn & St Pancras, he said: There is no hiding from the overall result. It is devastating. It will hurt the millions of people who so desperately need a Labour government. They have suffered so much under ten years of Tory austerity and will suffer more because of this result. We must now reflect; we must also rebuild. - Ashley Cowburn

EPA

The MP for Birmingham Yardley has been a prominent critic of the Labour leadership, and said at her victory speech in the early hours of Friday morning that it was clear her party needed structural change. The reality is that the Labour Party has got to do a huge amount more than just think getting rid of one man will just simply make it OK, she added.Before being elected to parliament, Phillips worked for Womens Aid, supporting female victims of domestic abuse. She has previously suggested she would run for the leadership should the position become vacant, but given the left-wing membership of the Labour Party, Phillips would likely find it difficult to gain traction in any leadership contest. - Ashley Cowburn

PA

Corbyns constituency neighbour and friend, Emily Thornberry, has been critical of the partys Brexit stance, but has remained loyal to the leadership and has represented the Labour Party on various overseas visits. The 59-year-old was brought up on a council estate near Guildford in Surrey by her mother when her father, a human rights lawyer and academic, walked out on his family. "I was born into the Labour Party," she once said. "I was delivering leaflets by the age I could reach the letter box.First elected as MP for Islington South in 2005, the shadow foreign secretary is likely to be considering a bid for the leadership, but the party may be looking for a leadership outside its London stronghold.After winning back her seat in same venue as Corbyn, she said: We may be hurting tonight but we are not beaten. We will tell Boris Johnson no our fight is not over, our fight is just starting. - Ashley Cowburn

Reuters

Cooper came third in the Labour leadership election in 2015, with just 19 per cent of the vote share dwarfed by Corbyns 59%. But Cooper, who has maintained a high-profile in recent years as chair of the Commons home affairs committee for grilling ministers, could attempt a second shot at the leadership. Unlike the other possible contenders, Cooper, who has been an MP since 1997, has experience in government having served as chief secretary to the Treasury and secretary of state for work and pensions under Gordon Brown. - Ashley Cowburn

Reuters

The rules were changed in 2018 to reduce the influence of the PLP on who could get on the ballot paper, cutting the threshold from 15 to 10 per cent.

Who can vote?

Labour party activists, MPs, members of affiliated trade unions and socialist societies all have a single vote each.

In 2015, the rules were changed to allow registered supporters to cast a ballot in a leadership contest. The flood of voterswho signed up for a 3 fee overwhelmingly backed Corbyn.

The fee was raised to 25 in 2016, ahead of the leadershipchallenge against Corbyn by Owen Smith.

Voters rank the candidates in order of preference, which means anyone who wins more than half the vote is automatically elected.

If no one meets that threshold, the candidate with the lowest votes is eliminated and their second preference votes are distributed to other candidates. This process continues until one candidate receives more than 50 per cent of the votes.

Who might stand to be leader?

Shadow cabinet members such as Sir Keir Starmer, Emily Thornberry, Dawn Butler and Angela Rayner are said to be considering their chances, while Corbynites are rowing in behind Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary.

Lisa Nandy, Jess Phillips and David Lammy are also understood to be mulling a tilt from the back benches.

No one has officially declared their candidacy yet, but Nandysaid she was seriously thinking about it on Sunday.

What about the deputy leader?

The position is vacant since Watson decided to quit, so the NEC may decide to run the election alongsidethe leadership contest.

Some of the people named as runners and riders for the leadership may decide to stand for the deputy job instead. There is some speculation about joint tickets, with Richard Burgon, the shadow justice secretary, saying he would back Long-Bailey but would consider running for the deputy role.

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Who will succeed Jeremy Corbyn and how does a Labour leadership contest work? - The Independent