Until December, ANDREW FISHER (pictured left) was Jeremy Corbyn’s senior policy adviser. A member of Croydon Central Constituency Labour Party, over the weekend Fisher reflected on how he sees the outcome of his local members’ vote in the selection process to replace his former boss as party leader
What my CLP nomination meeting tells me about the Labour leadership race…
First, I think my CLP is a good bellwether because it got it right in 2015 and in 2016. Jeremy Corbyn won our nomination narrowly in the first round in 2015 and by a slightly wider margin in 2016.
Keir Starmer is the frontrunner and has picked up votes of people who previously backed Jeremy Corbyn.
The CLP nominated Keir Starmer as leader but it took a second round:
1st round: Keir Starmer 36, Rebecca Long-Bailey 33, Lisa Nandy 11, Emily Thornberry 1
2nd round: KS 46, RLB 35
The race is still open but realistically there are only two potential winners: Keir Starmer or Rebecca Long-Bailey. They have 84 per cent of total CLP nominations between them.
Emily Thornberry probably won’t make the ballot.
With over 90 members present at our nomination meeting, not a single one spoke for her, and she got only one vote. With around three-quarters of CLPs having nominated, Thornberry only has about half the nominations she needs.
The deputy leadership race might be closer than it appears from CLP nominations.
It took three rounds of voting to decide on a winner – and even then only by one vote:
1st round: Angela Rayner 25, Rosena Allin-Khan 21, Dawn Butler 20, Richard Burgon 12, Ian Murray 3.
2nd round: AR 29, DB 27, RAK 24.
3rd round: AR 40, DB 39.
- Andrew Fisher was sharing his thoughts on the selection process on Twitter.
- Fisher’s close colleague, John McDonnell, is speaking on “The Next Steps for Labour” at the Croydon Assembly tonight at Ruskin House in Croydon, from 7.30pm
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or what to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
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