Skip to main content
Labour’s leadership candidates set out their stalls
NICK WRIGHT assesses the strengths and weaknesses of those vying for the top job in the party
Labour leadership candidates (from left to right) Rebecca Long Bailey, Sir Keir Starmer, Jess Phillips and Emily Thornberry

THE Parliamentary Labour Party hustings this week presented the leadership hopefuls with their first chance to woo MPs. 

It gave them the problem of doing so without blowing their pitch to the party’s electorate.

The dilemma of appearing to be simultaneously in tune with Jeremy Corbyn’s heritage while seeking the endorsement of the Corbyn-sceptic MPs has resulted in some careful positioning.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
A massive gathers in Hyde Park, London, for a meeting during the General Strike, May 1926
History / 1 January 2026
1 January 2026

BEN CHACKO says in different ways, the centenary of the General Strike and that of Fidel Castro’s birth point to priority tasks for the British left in the coming year

Guillaume Périgois
Politics / 14 August 2025
14 August 2025

Starmer sabotaged Labour with his second referendum campaign, mobilising a liberal backlash that sincerely felt progressive ideals were at stake — but the EU was then and is now an entity Britain should have nothing to do with, explains NICK WRIGHT

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer listens to a question from the press, after making a statement in Downing Street, London, July 29, 2025
Neoliberalism / 31 July 2025
31 July 2025

Deep disillusionment with the Westminster cross-party consensus means rupture with the status quo is on the cards – bringing not only opportunities but also dangers, says NICK WRIGHT

Former Labour Party leader and now Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn joins a march in central London organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, July 6, 2024
Opinion / 10 July 2025
10 July 2025

VINCE MILLS cautions over the perils and pitfalls of ‘a new left party’