Shadow Minister backs Liz Kendall to be Labour leader

Ivan Lewis, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, has announced that he’s backing Liz Kendall to be the next Labour leader.

In an article for the New Statesman, Lewis dismisses terms such as “Blairite” (a label that has been applied to Kendall) and says that although he thinks that “Tony Blair did more good than bad for Labour” neither “Liz Kendall or I believe that Labour’s route back to Government can be charted via the New Labour handbook.”

He gives a number of reason for choosing to back the Shadow Minister for Older People, including her “authenticity” and “humility” – which he believes will help Labour to reach out to “people alienated from the Westminster elite.”

Lewis also cites Kendall’s commitment to decentralisation as a strength – in particular noting that redistribution of power is key – and says she will have a “new economic policy”, “where Government is active in supporting small businesses to survive and grow and creating a business environment which supports UK companies to win global orders and attract inward investment.”

Lewis, who headed up Labour’s young people strategy going into the election, ends with a clear message; namely that Kendall represents a change he believes Labour needs:

The scale of Labour’s defeat and the challenges of rebuilding and renewing which lie ahead require radical and bold change. Liz Kendall is the change candidate who knows more of the same will lead to the same result for Labour. She is the new generation leader who can rebuild our relationship with voters of all backgrounds who no longer trust or like us very much.

This endorsement comes after Kendall further progressed her campaign, through an attempt to reach on out to the LGBT community. In an article for Gay Star News that she welcomed Ireland’s decision to allow same-sex marriage but called for Labour to push LGBTI rights worldwide.