ANALYSIS: Why 2020 is shaping up to be a very Happy New Year for Keir…
2 min read
As first weeks back at work go, this one could not have gone much better for Keir Starmer.
The Labour leadership hopeful is streaking ahead of his rivals in the race for MP and MEP nominations, so much so that he has already got more than enough in the bag.
On top of that, Sir Keir has also bagged the first trade union endorsement of the campaign, and it’s a biggie. Unison are the largest union in the country and, in his supporting message, general secretary Dave Prentis said the time for ideological purity was over - and only Starmer can unite the party while having a chance of winning power.
If all this wasn’t enough, the bookies’ favourite must have thought he’d won a watch last night when it emerged that Barry Gardiner is pondering a late entry into the race.
The shock move - which may or may not have the backing of Unite’s Len McCluskey - is further evidence of the disarray on Labour’s Corbynite wing.
Rebecca Long Bailey has been seen as the leader’s heiress apparent since Laura Pidcock lost her seat, and her position seemed even more secure when Ian Lavery - who some sections of the left had been urging to stand - announced that he was backing her.
But those same excitable activists have now jumped on the Barry bandwagon as doubts grow over whether Long Bailey is the real deal.
One Labour moderate observed: “Whatever my huge reservations about Rebecca, it shows the utter state of the ‘left’ that utterly unacceptable and hopeless candidates from that wing of the party - Lavery, Clive Lewis and now Barry Gardiner - think they are better than a woman who is the front runner for the leadership.
“It’s says far more about their belief in themselves than it is a disservice to Rebecca.”
Were Long Bailey and Gardiner to both appear on the ballot paper - and it’s highly doubtful whether Barry would even get the necessary nominations before Monday’s deadline - it would demonstrate that despite having years to prepare for this scenario, the Corbynistas have failed to agree on a suitable successor.
And that can only be good news for Starmer.
While the left tears itself apart in the search for the true keeper of the Corbyn plane, he can present himself as the competent, anti-Brexit, centre-left alternative.
2020 may barely be a week old, but it’s already shaping up to be a good year for Sir Keir
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