A forum visitor is silhoutetted in front of a projected logo before a Conservative party leadership candidate forum at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino in Calgary, Alta. on Wednesday March 1, 2017.Jim Wells / Jim Wells/Postmedia

OTTAWA The director of fundraising for the federal Conservatives has taken over as acting executive director of the party as it continues to grapple with the fallout from the resignation of leader Andrew Scheer.

Jaime Girard is replacing Dustin Van Vugt, who left his job as executive director earlier this month over questions about party funds used for Scheers personal expenses.

Girard jumps into the new role at a crucial time for the party figuring out how to run the race to select Scheers replacement.

Scheer announced on Dec. 12 that he will step down as leader as soon as a new one is chosen, a move that came after weeks of intense criticism of the way the party fared in the fall election, despite the fact it increased its overall seat count and share of the popular vote.

Campaigns to oust Scheer reached a fever pitch in the days leading up to his announcement, including word circulating that his childrens private school tuition was paid for with party money details that surprised some members of the partys main fundraising arm, the Conservative Fund.

Girard has spent more than a decade serving as director of fundraising for the Conservative Party, a position that would have placed her into close contact with the Funds board.

The board includes former prime minister Stephen Harper, Conservative Sen. Linda Frum, and, as the current director, retired Conservative senator Irving Gerstein. Gerstein is expected to step back from his role running the board next year.

While the Fund sets the partys budget, some members were not fully aware of the details of Scheers spending. The deal to cover tuition costs for Scheers children was struck between him and Van Vugt, who had called it standard practice.

All proper procedures were followed and signed off on by the appropriate people, he said in a statement the same day Scheer stepped down.

But some members of the Fund disagreed. Van Vugt subsequently left the job.

Replacing him with Girard was one of a series of decisions adopted by the partys national council on Friday as they seek to sort out the mess created by Scheer and Van Vugts departure.

Another: punting Aprils planned policy convention to November in order to free up more room to organize the leadership race.

The committee who will be in charge of that is expected to be named in the coming days. Theyll in turn have to sort out when and where the vote will take place, and the rules for it, including the entry fee and number of signatures required to run.

Though several people including former Quebec premier Jean Charest and former interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose have signalled an interest in running for the leadership, all are waiting for clarity on the rules and deadlines before they commit. Other potential contenders include current Conservative MPs and former cabinet ministers Pierre Poilievre, Erin OToole and Michael Chong, as well as former MPs and cabinet ministers Peter MacKay and James Moore.

Meanwhile, there is ongoing debate about the scope of Scheers expense accounts.

Scheers office has repeatedly said they have nothing to add when asked for clarification about how Scheer used the money, the decision to fire Van Vugt, or whether hell support a line-by-line review of his expenses.

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Fundraising boss takes over temporary helm of Conservative party - Saskatoon StarPhoenix

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More News28 Dec 2019 | 5:01 PM

Kannur, Dec 28 (UNI) Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan's inaugural speech, at the 80th Session of Indian History Congress (IHC) in Kannur University Thavakkara campus here on Saturday, was disrupted following protest by delegates and Research students.

Puducherry, Dec 28 (UNI) Alleging that Muthialpet Inspector of Police Senthil Kumar has prevented the DMDK workers from joining the rally organized by the BJP in support of the CAA here on Friday, the Puducherry unit of the party on Saturday urged the police department to initiate action against him.

Salem, Dec 28 (UNI) Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami today said Tamil Nadu emerging on top in the National Good Governance Index (GGI) among the 'Big States' was a proud moment for the State.

Hubballi, Dec 28 (UNI) On the background of countrywide anti-CAA protests, the BJP has decided to run a pro-CAA awareness campaign across the state from January 1 to 15 which will include door-to-door campaigning to contact 30 lakh households, social media campaign, and rallies in all district centres.

Salem, Dec 28 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami today said the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by the opposition parties was due to political vendetta and to confuse the people.

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AP Cabinet nod for providing reservation in Panchayat Election for SCs, STs - United News of India

Union Cabinet on Tuesday announced that it has allocated around Rs 3,500 crores for updating National Population Register (NPR). The process shall commence from April next year and will be completed by September.

NPR was first done in 2010 and was later updated in 2015 when it was linked with the Aadhar. But since the announcement of the NPR update has come in the middle of a raging controversy on the National Register of Citizens (NRC), there is widespread confusion between the two. Many have also confused the National Population Register with Census, which is also due.

So what is National Population Register and how is it different from NRC or Census? Let's have a look:

WHAT IS NPR

The NPR is a register of the usual residents of the country. It contains information collected at the local (village/sub-town), subdistrict, district, state and national level under provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.

WHO IS USUAL RESIDENT OF INDIA

A usual resident is defined, for the purposes of the NPR, as a person who has resided in a local area for the past six months or more, or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next six months.

The law compulsorily seeks to register every citizen of India and issue a national identity card.

WHO WILL CONDUCT NPR

The process of updating NPR will be carried out under the aegis of the Registrar General and ex-Officio Census Commissioner, India.

WHAT INFORMATION WILL BE COLLECTED UNDER NPR

The objective of the NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country. The database would contain demographic particulars such as:

WHAT DOCUMENTS DO YOU NEED TO PRODUCE FOR NPR

During the NPR, a respondent will not require to produce any document. As per a statement was given by Home Minister Amit Shah to news agency ANI, NPR information will be self-attested, that is, whatever information is provided by the respondent will be deemed correct and no documents or biometric would be required.

WHEN AND WHERE NPR WILL BE CONDUCTED

The process of collecting information for NPR will start in April 2020 and will be completed by September. NPR will be conducted across India, except Assam as the state has already gone through the National Register of Citizens. Gazette notification for the forthcoming NPR has been published by the central government in August.

HOW IS NPR DIFFERENT THAN CENSUS

While the process of NPR and Census will begin simultaneously, the two databases are not same.

The decennial census is the largest single source of a variety of statistical information on different characteristics of the people of India.

While NPR only contains demographic information, more details are required for census like information on demography, economic activity, literacy and education, and housing and household amenities besides others.

The census is the basis for reviewing the country's progress in the past decade, monitoring the ongoing schemes of the government and plan for the future.

A census official collects details from village residents during Census 2011. REUTERS

The census provides detailed and authentic information on demography, economic activity, literacy and education, housing and household amenities, urbanisation, fertility and mortality, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, language, religion, migration, disability besides others.

The enumerators also collect data related to cultivators and agricultural labourers, their sex, occupational classification of workers in the non-households industry, trade, business, profession or service by class of worker and sex.

There will be a detailed survey on gender and literacy rate, a number of towns, slum households and their population.

Information is also collected on sources of potable water, energy, irrigation, method of farming, whether a house is a concrete, thatched or others.

Also read | What is NRC: All you need to know about National Register of Citizens

The census, 2021 will be done in two phases. In the first phase, the work of house-listing or housing census will be conducted from April to September 2020. In the second phase, the enumeration of the population will be done from February 9 to February 28, 2021, with reference moment as 00:00 hours of March 1, 2021.

For snow-bound areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the reference date will be October 1, 2020.

With a history of more than 130 years, this reliable, time tested exercise has been bringing out a veritable wealth of statistics every 10 years, beginning from 1872 when the first census was conducted in India non-synchronously in different parts.

HOW IS NPR DIFFERENT THAN NRC

National Population Register is a database of people living in India, citizens or not, but National Resgiter of Citizens is a database of Indian citizens. The NRC process demands proof of citizenship from the respondents. Those who found in wnat of the proof may face deportation or detention in long run. But in NPR, there is no need to provide any document.

WILL ANYONE LOSE CITIZENSHIP BECAUSE OF NPR

"It is possible that some names are missed in the NPR, still their citizenship will not be revoked because this is not the process of NRC. The NRC is a different process. I want to make it clear that nobody will lose citizenship because of NPR," Amit Shah said.

The home minister's statement came amid controversy that NPR was the first step towards NRC. Several opposition leaders requested CMs to boycott the NPR process to avoid NRC. But the home minister has claimed that the two are not linked in any way.

The home ministry officials have also said that there is no plan to use data collected during NPR to form the basis of NRC.

WHAT IS THE USE OF NPR

The question remains that if the government has Census than why does it need NPR.

The officials say that NPR data helps identify the demographics of actual residents who will be direct beneficiaries of any schemes launched in the area.

For example, a majority of permanent residents of an industrial town in Gujarat may be Gujarati speaking, but the majority of current residents may consist of Hindu speaking people from various parts of the country. The NPR data will help government design and adapt schemes like Ayushman Bharat, Jandhan Yojna, or medium of instruction in schools as per the current demographics, thus making the schemes more effective.

(With inputs from agencies)

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What is NPR: All you need to know about National Population Register - India Today

Council chiefs have signed off plans to invest 7 million to turn more than 16,000 street lights LED in the county.

Shropshire Council will turn 16,523 lights that arent already LED over the next three years.

Councillor Simon Harris, member for Broseley, said his town made the switch earlier this year and said it was a fantastic scheme with 178 lights completed.

He added: The work men were fantastic, the whole town has benefitedand this is a great thing for the county.

The move will cost 6.83 million, but will save the authority 506,533 per year in bills.

More than 3,000 lights in the county have already been switched.

Councillor Steve Davenport, cabinet member for highways, said: It is a good scheme that will result in us saving 1million annuallyin total.

We currently have men in vans going around checking lights and this will help them.

Councillor Dean Carroll, cabinet member for climate change added: This will be a huge benefit to our efforts to tackle climate change.

I urge everyone to support it.

Councillor Viv Parry said the scheme was first mentioned five years ago and said it was a shame that the switch had not been made sooner.

Mark Barrow, director of place, said in a report to fullcouncil: Shropshire Council wishes to invest within its remaining 16,253 street lights that are located across the county, to replace the traditional street lighting bulbs with LED replacement, and where required replace the street lighting columns.

The LED conversion programme will contribute significantly to reduced energy consumption and will be intrinsic to the delivery of the councils environment agenda, by reducing the consumption of electric by 56 per cent over the working period.

The council currently spends approximately 1 million each year on energy for street lighting.

Recent projections indicate energy costs for street lighting will rise by between five per cent and 14 per cent over the next 10 years which could mean the annual cost increasing to nearly 3.7 million in that time and as high as 13.7 million in 20 years if prices rose by 14 per cent each year.

This forecast is clearly unsustainable, and a change in the approach is required.

He added: By investing approximately 6.83 million over three years to convert the councils 16,253 street lights to LED, it would reduce their consumption by 56 per cent saving approximately 506,533 per year (at todays prices) in energy and a reduction in maintenance costs of an estimated 390,899 per year.

In order to achieve the above intention, full council is asked to approve that Shropshire Council applies to SALIX (a government agency) for an interest-free loan, supported with identified and approved SC finance to deliver a total budget of 6,824,011 for the three years of the programme to deliver the improvements and changes.

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Shropshire: 16000 street lights to be upgraded - Border Counties Advertizer

More News28 Dec 2019 | 5:01 PM

Kannur, Dec 28 (UNI) Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan's inaugural speech, at the 80th Session of Indian History Congress (IHC) in Kannur University Thavakkara campus here on Saturday, was disrupted following protest by delegates and Research students.

Puducherry, Dec 28 (UNI) Alleging that Muthialpet Inspector of Police Senthil Kumar has prevented the DMDK workers from joining the rally organized by the BJP in support of the CAA here on Friday, the Puducherry unit of the party on Saturday urged the police department to initiate action against him.

Salem, Dec 28 (UNI) Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami today said Tamil Nadu emerging on top in the National Good Governance Index (GGI) among the 'Big States' was a proud moment for the State.

Hubballi, Dec 28 (UNI) On the background of countrywide anti-CAA protests, the BJP has decided to run a pro-CAA awareness campaign across the state from January 1 to 15 which will include door-to-door campaigning to contact 30 lakh households, social media campaign, and rallies in all district centres.

Salem, Dec 28 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami today said the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by the opposition parties was due to political vendetta and to confuse the people.

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AP government to set up 'High Power' Committee on Capital city issue - United News of India

More News28 Dec 2019 | 5:01 PM

Kannur, Dec 28 (UNI) Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan's inaugural speech, at the 80th Session of Indian History Congress (IHC) in Kannur University Thavakkara campus here on Saturday, was disrupted following protest by delegates and Research students.

Puducherry, Dec 28 (UNI) Alleging that Muthialpet Inspector of Police Senthil Kumar has prevented the DMDK workers from joining the rally organized by the BJP in support of the CAA here on Friday, the Puducherry unit of the party on Saturday urged the police department to initiate action against him.

Salem, Dec 28 (UNI) Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami today said Tamil Nadu emerging on top in the National Good Governance Index (GGI) among the 'Big States' was a proud moment for the State.

Hubballi, Dec 28 (UNI) On the background of countrywide anti-CAA protests, the BJP has decided to run a pro-CAA awareness campaign across the state from January 1 to 15 which will include door-to-door campaigning to contact 30 lakh households, social media campaign, and rallies in all district centres.

Salem, Dec 28 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami today said the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by the opposition parties was due to political vendetta and to confuse the people.

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Mahadayi row: Centre facing hurdle in coming out with Gazette Notification: Shettar - United News of India

The biggest govtech deals of the week (16/12/19) - NS Tech ').appendTo( jQuery(this) ); var divText2 = jQuery('.entry-content p:eq(5)', this); jQuery('.article-mpu:eq(0)', this).insertAfter(divText2); } if (articleLength > 19) { jQuery('').appendTo( jQuery(this) ); var divText3 = jQuery('.entry-content p:eq(15)', this); jQuery('.article-mpu:eq(1)', this).insertAfter(divText3); } if (articleLength > 29) { jQuery('').appendTo( jQuery(this) ); var divText4 = jQuery('.entry-content p:eq(25)', this); jQuery('.article-mpu:eq(2)', this).insertAfter(divText4); } if (articleLength > 39) { jQuery('').appendTo( jQuery(this) ); var divText5 = jQuery('.entry-content p:eq(35)', this); jQuery('.article-mpu:eq(3)', this).insertAfter(divText5); } } } }); } /* Add position of article as a class to its div */ var numCount = 0; function showMoreForNewArticles() { jQuery('.post-detail-row').each(function() { if ( jQuery( this ).hasClass( "marked" ) ) {} else { jQuery(this).addClass('marked'); str1 = 'articleno'; 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Pete Rahn by Maryland GovPics licensed under Creative Commons.

Maryland State Secretary of Transportation Pete Rahn suddenly resigned on Monday, leaving behind a legacy on transit which includes cancelling Baltimores Red Line and axing Montgomery Countys Corridor Cities Transitway. Rahn is heading back to his native New Mexico, where hes been commuting from since Governor Larry Hogan tapped him to lead the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) in 2015.

During his almost five years in office, Rahn did garner praise from local and state politicians for helping to push through the Maryland Transit Administrations (MTA) Purple Line and securing funds for the expansion of the Howard Street Tunnel including important beneficiary, the Port of Baltimore. Yet like the Hogan administration, Rahn has mostly been actively hostile to transit.

Throughout his tenure, Rahn slashed transit while expanding highways and pushing more auto-centric roads, and sustained heavy criticism from many of those same legislators and transportation advocates. Most recently, he cut transit funding in Marylands transportation budget by $1.1 billion, from his penultimate edition in 2018 to his final annual budget in 2019. In his unofficial exit interview with the Washington Post, Rahn stated, I believe we still have a disproportionate share of the trust fund going to transit.

Rahns replacement, Gregory Slater, comes to the position from heading up the State Highway Administration, one of the agencies most directly involved in the highly controversial plans to install toll lanes on the Capital Beltway and I-270. Nonetheless, many Maryland lawmakers regard him more highly than Rahn. As one transportation sector expert told the Post, Greg [Slater] is much more careful with what he says. Hes very diplomatic.

Whether he was being praised or criticized, Rahn tended to galvanize public opinion in Maryland to an extent rare for any state cabinet secretary. That pattern didnt stop with his resignation this week. Heres what a few Maryland state and local politicians had to say about Rahns departure, his legacy, and their advice for Slater on replacing Rahn.

Delegate Vaughn Stewart, 19th District (Montgomery County), says:

Secretary Rahn championed asphalt and executed the hit on the Red Line at a time of climate crisis. With the planet burning, Rahn will be remembered as one of the last of his kinda state transportation secretary who cared about moving cars above all else.

Delegate Kirill Reznik, 39th District (Montgomery County):

Pete Rahn is clearly a very intelligent guy who believes in what he is selling. Its why Governor Hogan hired him in the first place. That being said, what he is selling are 20th century solutions to 21st century problems. And he was so convinced of these ideas, that he never bothered to check in with the Legislators who represent the people directly affected or other stakeholders that might hold a different opinion. He never chose to be a partner with us, rather felt the need to tell us how things will be. I have every reason to believe that Greg Slater will be a very different Transportation Secretary. Having spent over 20 years working for the Department in Maryland, he knows the process and the stakeholders well, and has a history of working with us, not in spite of us. Ultimately, he, like Rahn, will still answer to Governor Hogan, but I have every reason to believe that he will be a reasonable and moderating force in this relationship.

Delegate Brooke Lierman, 46th District (Baltimore City):

I was consistently disappointed in Sec. Rahns myopic approach to transportation policy in Maryland. He never fully appreciated that he was not the highway administrator, but instead was responsible for crafting a multi-modal strategy for all Marylanders. We have serious transportation challenges in this state and he was not up for meeting them. Despite clear data on the need for transit to support economic development, he seemed to view spending money on transit as charity rather than investment. If we are truly open for business in Maryland, we must fully embrace a complete multi-modal transportation policy. I hope that the new Secretary will understand that because Sec. Rahn never did.

Councilmember Ryan Dorsey, 3rd District (Baltimore City):

Though so much damage has already been done by him, Pete Rahn leaving is a very good thing for Maryland. At the end of the day, Governor Hogan is still the man behind the curtain, and so its likely that Rahn is nothing more than a mercenary, willing to be a figurehead following orders from a sprawl developer Governor. I would be delighted to be proven wrong by whatever happens next and see that a forward-thinking MDOT secretary would meaningfully demote cars and promote transit.

Readers: What do you think Rahns resignation and the new MDOT secretary will mean for Maryland?

Alex Holt is a New York state native, Maryland transplant, and freelance writer. He lives in Mt. Washington in Baltimore and enjoys geeking out about all things transit, sports, politics, and comics, not necessarily in that order.

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MDOT head Pete Rahn was hostile to transit. Will his replacement be better? - Greater Greater Washington

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.

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