How will the leadership election work?

The leadership election, triggered by Ed Miliband’s resignation today, will happen under the rules agreed by the 2014 Collins Review, we can confirm. The plan at the moment is for a shorter election than the one that took place in 2010, with a new leader being in place before Labour’s conference in September.

The review changed the way in which Labour elects leaders, from a three-way electoral college system to a One Member One Vote (OMOV) system. Previously, equal weight was given to member, parliamentarian, and the trade union and affiliated societies sections – Ed Miliband famously won after a large victory in the third of these colleges.

Now, candidates will be elected by members, and registered and affiliated supporters, who will all receive a maximum of one vote. This means that, for instance, members of Labour-affiliated trade union will need to register as Labour supporters in order to vote.

In order to stand, candidates will need to be nominated by at least 15% of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) – now 35 MPs. The vote, as in previous elections, will be held by the Alternative Vote (AV) system, and the deputy leadership election will be held with the same rules.

A meeting of Labour’s NEC will take place early next week to agree the timetable and procedure for the two elections.