Labour leader to be unveiled in September
LABOUR party supporters will need to wait until September to find out who will replace Ed Miliband as the party’s leader.
Acting leader of the Labour party Harriet Harman said late yesterday that the new leader would be announced at a special conference on 12 September.
Harman took over as acting leader of the opposition last Friday, following Miliband’s resignation as Labour reeled from its heavy election defeat.
Harman’s announcement came on the same day that shadow health minister Andy Burnham announced his leadership bid.
In a video posted on YouTube, Burnham said he wanted the Labour party to appeal to voters from across the political spectrum.
He said:“Our challenge is not to go left or right, to focus on one part of the country above another, but to rediscover the beating heart of Labour.”
Speaking about how to reconnect with voters, he added: “The way to get it back can’t possibly be to choose one group of voters over another – to speak only to people on zero hours contracts or only to shoppers at John Lewis.”
Burnham joined two other candidates who have said they would like to take up the top job: shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna threw his hat into the ring on Tuesday, and shadow minister for care and older people Liz Kendall was first to step forward.
Meanwhile, two Labour MPs have declared their candidacies for mayor of London. Former shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan and former shadow minister for public health Diane Abbott both said yesterday that they would like to replace mayor Boris Johnson.
Johnson, who was elected as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in last week’s General Election, has said he will not seek a third term in City Hall, and an election for his replacement is scheduled for May 2016.
Three other Labour candidates have already announced their candidacies to lead the capital: Tessa Jowell, David Lammy and Christian Wolmar.
For the Conservatives, Andrew Boff, Stephen Greehalgh, Ivan Massow and former footballer Sol Campbell have all declared.