The woman who forced Labour’s hand: inside Catherine West’s leadership ‘bid’

For around 72 hours in May, Catherine West was catapulted from backbench select committee member to prospective contender for the Labour leadership and Prime Minister. Her announcement, days after the local elections, that she would challenge Keir Starmer, when other potential candidates were hesitant to make the first move, sent Labour into a period of chaos – before Andy Burnham secured a pathway toward returning to Parliament.

As the party begins the formal process of electing a new party leader, LabourList caught up with the MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet to reflect on those chaotic days in May and what drove her to single-handedly take on the party leadership.

‘In ordinary times, I think we could have been more patient’

For someone who – less than two months ago – was preparing to challenge Keir Starmer for the party leadership, West is surprisingly full of praise for the outgoing Prime Minister.

“He led Labour out of very tricky waters indeed and he was very dependable. The strong foundations he put in place will be remembered, and there’s all sorts of nice cards going round for him.

“In ordinary times, I think we could have been more patient waiting for things to unfold more, but my overriding notion was needing to move things quickly, so that we could pivot towards what’s going to be a very key general election in 2029. Working people swing elections, and the evidence from both Gorton and Denton and the local elections was that people had switched off.”

‘I could see us pretending the [local] election didn’t happen’

In the aftermath of May’s devastating local elections, West’s thoughts were one of concern, particularly around the electoral viability of the party come the next general election.

“We have to remember that just 33 percent of the vote share went to Labour in the 2024 election. It did lead to a lot of seats, but when your vote drops from that point onwards, you’re getting a bit close to not having any seats at all.

“As soon as I saw the figure of 17 percent for Labour across the country, I was immediately very worried – and I think that the feeling that people had switched off from Labour needed to be addressed very quickly.”

For West, she saw few opportunities for that to happen, and when candidates like Wes Streeting were, at first, reluctant to trigger a contest, she was concerned that a ‘business as usual’ approach would set in.

“I could see us pretending the election didn’t happen, and I felt that was the most risky measure. It’s always a risk to have a leadership election, because you risk opening up debates – but it’s also a risk not to do anything and to allow a lot of time to elapse before the next election.

“I felt the timing was very important to give us the best possible chance. I wanted to jolt us out of any sense of complacency.”

‘I guess I was providing cover for other people who wanted to stand’

After a message by West from a Labour WhatsApp group was leaked in The Times, West decided to make the first move herself. In an interview with the BBC just days after the local and devolved elections, she said she would put her name forward to stand for party leader.

She told the BBC at the time: “We need someone from within the Cabinet to step forward as leader and then we will have a new leader of the party without having to have a leadership election. If that cannot happen, and there are no leadership hopefuls that come forward, then Monday morning I will put my name forward to stand for leader of the Labour Party, and I will be seeking the 81 names needed to take to the party chair – and I will begin a leadership election.”

West told LabourList: “I guess I was providing some element of cover for other people who wanted to put forward their vision.

“I was showing intent there [in the WhatsApp message] because I was cross and upset that I’d just lost my old council leader.

“I had a couple of people email me to say I think you did the right thing, and a couple of people texting to say ‘you’re brave’ – which is often code for mad. I had a couple of people who weren’t happy with my threat, which was totally understandable.

“I think sometimes it’s an emotional appeal from someone who doesn’t want to really express a view about which particular leader might be best but says ‘let’s look again’, that’s perhaps the best catalyst [for triggering a contest].”

‘If you counted everybody up, there were about 80 or 81’

Events played out at pace following her announcement, with a sea of Labour MPs calling for Starmer to quit and Josh Simons announcing his resignation to trigger a by-election to allow for Andy Burnham’s return to Parliament.

West said she is pleased with how events turned out subsequent to her decision to throw her hat in the ring, albeit temporarily.

She said: “Quite a lot of people from different seats were saying similar things. Jonathan Brash, who represents one of the most Leave seats, and I, who represents one of the most Remain seats – we both lost masses of councillors to what I call both ends of the candle, so we did have to have some kind of conversation. I was very happy to get the ball rolling.”

She also said that, having sent an email to the PLP to gather names calling for a transition to a new leader, she managed to get around 81 names.

“I was able to email everybody to ask would they support an orderly transition – that’s not the same as me standing. By that stage, if you counted everybody up, there were about 80 or 81, so I think we probably could have got to that point – but I’m very pleased with the way it transpired.”

‘I wasn’t prepared for how much my phone was going to ring’

Would she have made the same decision if she had her time again?

“I have to say I wasn’t prepared for how much my phone was going to ring. I don’t type very quickly, so WhatsApp is really exhausting with all this copying and pasting – I did not enjoy that. My dear staff member had to field all the phone calls and send out statements after what was quite a demanding local election campaign.”

West never ultimately made it onto the ballot paper. Yet, in the space of just a few days, she went from backbencher to the MP who, at least briefly, set the course for one of the most dramatic weeks in the party’s recent history. Her intervention, at a time when others were hesitant to make the first move, ensured she played a pivotal role in accelerating the conversation around the leadership and helped set in motion Burnham’s ascendancy.

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