Labour’s leadership frontrunners should no longer seek nominations

by Jennifer Painter / @jenpainter

General Secretary of the Fabian Society, Sunder Katwala, has posted a letter from himself to Labour leadership contenders ‘David, Ed and Ed’ on the blog Next Left. The letter requests that the frontrunners (who have all secured a place on the ballot sheet) now inform other MPs that they are no longer seeking nominations, increasing the chances of Burnham, Abbott and McDonnell receiving the 33 nominations needed to stand in the election. Such a move would emphasise the need for a broad and diverse election, and would demonstrate the candidates’ commitment to this.

Katwala writes:

Each of you have talked about how you personally would like to see the widest possible field of candidates in the leadership election.

There is one simple, practical step which you could now each take to help to make that possible.

So I am writing to each of you to ask if you would be willing to tell MPs that you are not now seeking further formal nominations for leader, in the event that your rival candidates for the leadership who have reached the nomination threshold were willing to do the same thing.

He continues:

Nominations are not votes – and this would not of course provide any bar to continuing to release further public statements of support from MPs and others advocating that you would be the best candidate to lead our party, including from some who may at the same time choose to formally nominate another candidate to extend the field and the leadership debate.

See the full letter here.