How many leadership candidates can make it to the ballot?

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We had interviews all over the shop yesterday. Leadership candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey spoke with both the BBC and The Guardian. She cited Labour’s “compromise position” on Brexit and a failure to tackle antisemitism when asked by Laura Kuenssberg what went wrong in the election last month. In both, she maintained she is not just a ‘continuity Corbyn’ candidate and reaffirmed her message of “aspiration”. With these pieces, her campaign launch, a policy event on open selections and another interview in The Mirror on Tuesday, it’s clear that her campaign is now picking up steam after its slow start.

Fellow leadership hopeful Lisa Nandy has also had a busy 24 hours. She popped up on ITV’s Peston last night to say that she disagreed with Long-Bailey on open selections, stating that we already have a system for members to hold MPs to account. This could become our first real dividing line in the leadership election. Nandy talked about the need to build a “broad team” and get away from Jeremy Corbyn vs Tony Blair rhetoric. She also laid out plans for a shake up of the welfare system in a speech yesterday, in which she said she would give claimants a role in designing an “empowering” system. Keir Starmer has, in contrast, had a relatively quiet week – probably because YouGov has suggested that he could win on first preferences alone.

Nandy became the second leadership contender to secure a place on the ballot. Chinese for Labour declared its nomination of the Wigan MP for leader and Dawn Butler for deputy. Nandy joins Starmer on the ballot, after he got the backing of UNISON, SERA and Usdaw. Unite will make its decision on Friday, and is expected to support Rebecca Long-Bailey – she’s also well-placed to win CWU next week which, combined with the nomination she already has from the BFAWU, would push her over the threshold. Emily Thornberry will need to go down the local party route to make it onto the ballot, and therefore needs a further 30 to support her before February 14th.

Thornberry made it through her interview with Andrew Neil last night. Would you scrap HS2? “No.” Would you scrap Trident? “No.” Would you use it? “I would do anything to protect our country.” At one point she shouted down the TV host when explaining why she sent her son to a selective school after backing comprehensive schooling. She told him: “I will never apologise for doing the best for my kids.” She also had to fend off accusations of sneering at voters, again, when shown a clip in which she laughed as Butler said that if a person doesn’t hate Brexit, “there is something wrong” with them. Thornberry said last night that “they forget who I am and where you come from”, and reminded everyone that her brother is a builder. The Islington MP remained confident about her chances in the race.

27 constituency Labour parties have decided who they are backing so far. 18 have declared for Starmer, Long-Bailey has received the support of five and Nandy is on just one. Over in the deputy contest, Angela Rayner is out in front with 15 nominations, Butler has four, Rosena Allin-Khan and Richard Burgon have three each and Ian Murray is on two. There are literally hundreds more constituency parties that still need to hold their all-member meetings, so it’s possible that everyone could end up on the ballot. But it remains to be seen whether many local parties will look to give the selectorate a wider choice or simply go for their first preferences.

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