Cooper announces campaign chairs

Yvette Cooper has revealed which MPs will chair her campaign. She’s decided to divide the task between Vernon Coaker, Shadow Defence Minister, and Shabana Mahmood, who is Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

The two will be co-chairs of her campaign and will work alongside Cooper’s campaign director, Sheila Murphy – who has previously been the party’s regional director in the north.

Coaker explained his reason for backing Cooper:

“I’m supporting Yvette because she is the candidate who can win the next election and give us a Labour Government.

“She has the vision needed to take our party and our country forward, and importantly, she has the experience to make it happen.”

While Mahmood stressed the importance of making Cooper’s campaign as inclusive as possible:

“I am delighted to be supporting Yvette’s leadership campaign and acting as co-Chair. I want to be part of making political history and help secure Labour its first ever elected woman leader.

“We are determined that Yvette’s campaign will reach out to as many people as possible – both within our Party and those who turned away from us at the last election. For Labour to form a Government in 2020 we need to be winning in those areas we failed to gain support this time round. Yvette is the leader to do this and her campaign will be the start of that process.”

Other MPs who are endorsing Cooper to be leader include Kate Green, Chris Bryant, Seema Malhotra and David Hanson.