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| Labour leadership: NEC decides contest to last three months, with result announced Saturday 4 April – as it happened | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Labour supporters given 48-hour window to place leadership vote with result due to be announced in April | |
| Labour’s new leader and deputy leader will be announced at a special conference on 4 April, with prospective supporters given a 48-hour window next week to sign up if they want to have their say. | Labour’s new leader and deputy leader will be announced at a special conference on 4 April, with prospective supporters given a 48-hour window next week to sign up if they want to have their say. |
| Downing Street has said targeting cultural sites in Iran would breach international warfare conventions in an implicit rebuke to Donald Trump for threatening to bomb protected heritage sites. | Downing Street has said targeting cultural sites in Iran would breach international warfare conventions in an implicit rebuke to Donald Trump for threatening to bomb protected heritage sites. |
| Angela Rayner has said Labour faces the stark challenge of “win or die” after the party’s general election defeat as she officially launched her campaign to become deputy leader. | Angela Rayner has said Labour faces the stark challenge of “win or die” after the party’s general election defeat as she officially launched her campaign to become deputy leader. |
| Jess Phillips, a Labour leadership candidate, has backed away from her suggestion yesterday that she could support the UK rejoining the EU at the next general election. In an article published this morning, she said she could not imagine the Labour party supporting this idea. (See 8.51am.) | Jess Phillips, a Labour leadership candidate, has backed away from her suggestion yesterday that she could support the UK rejoining the EU at the next general election. In an article published this morning, she said she could not imagine the Labour party supporting this idea. (See 8.51am.) |
| Yvette Cooper, the former Labour cabinet minister, has announced that she will not be standing for the Labour leadership. But, in an article for the Guardian, she has identified seven tasks for the person who does replace Jeremy Corbyn. Her article is here. | Yvette Cooper, the former Labour cabinet minister, has announced that she will not be standing for the Labour leadership. But, in an article for the Guardian, she has identified seven tasks for the person who does replace Jeremy Corbyn. Her article is here. |
| Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, will not be allowed to bypass Whitehall’s usual recruitment processes when recruiting “weirdos” and “misfits” for Downing Street jobs, No 10 has said. | Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, will not be allowed to bypass Whitehall’s usual recruitment processes when recruiting “weirdos” and “misfits” for Downing Street jobs, No 10 has said. |
| Boris Johnson is facing demands for cash compensation that could run to more than £100m for any disruption caused by Brexit to Northern Ireland’s businesses. | Boris Johnson is facing demands for cash compensation that could run to more than £100m for any disruption caused by Brexit to Northern Ireland’s businesses. |
| Sir Ed Davey, the acting Lib Dem leader, has allocated “frontbench” roles for his MPs. Davey himself will combine being acting leader with being Treasury spokesperson. | Sir Ed Davey, the acting Lib Dem leader, has allocated “frontbench” roles for his MPs. Davey himself will combine being acting leader with being Treasury spokesperson. |
| That is all from me for today. | That is all from me for today. |
| Thanks for the comments. | Thanks for the comments. |
| From LabourList’s Sienna Rodgers | From LabourList’s Sienna Rodgers |
| Talks in Belfast aimed at getting the Northern Ireland assembly and its power-sharing executive back up and running have not been running smoothly, the BBC’s Jayne McCormack reports. | Talks in Belfast aimed at getting the Northern Ireland assembly and its power-sharing executive back up and running have not been running smoothly, the BBC’s Jayne McCormack reports. |
| Jackson Carlaw, the acting leader of the Scottish Conservatives, has declared he will campaign to succeed Ruth Davidson, as the contest formally began. | Jackson Carlaw, the acting leader of the Scottish Conservatives, has declared he will campaign to succeed Ruth Davidson, as the contest formally began. |
| Carlaw, the then deputy Scottish Tory leader, became interim leader after Davidson unexpectedly resigned last August, citing family pressures and her long-standing unhappiness over the UK party’s stance on Brexit. | Carlaw, the then deputy Scottish Tory leader, became interim leader after Davidson unexpectedly resigned last August, citing family pressures and her long-standing unhappiness over the UK party’s stance on Brexit. |
| The overwhelming favourite, Carlaw announced on Monday on Twitter he would stand and said: “We must take the fight to Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP, broadening our platform and diversifying our party.” | The overwhelming favourite, Carlaw announced on Monday on Twitter he would stand and said: “We must take the fight to Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP, broadening our platform and diversifying our party.” |
| He told the Sunday Times he thought the Tories would need to ditch some “precious” policies to compete more aggressively in the centre ground as “blue collar Conservatives”, although he failed to specify which. | He told the Sunday Times he thought the Tories would need to ditch some “precious” policies to compete more aggressively in the centre ground as “blue collar Conservatives”, although he failed to specify which. |
| He is expected to face competition from Michelle Ballantyne, an MSP who is the party’s social security spokeswoman, who said she believed there needed to be “a contest and not a coronation”. Ballantyne said she would stand if she won nominations from 100 party members. | He is expected to face competition from Michelle Ballantyne, an MSP who is the party’s social security spokeswoman, who said she believed there needed to be “a contest and not a coronation”. Ballantyne said she would stand if she won nominations from 100 party members. |
| A remain voter who has since enthusiastically backed Boris Johnson’s Brexit stance, Carlaw been backed by several senior colleagues, including Murdo Fraser, a former leadership candidate who lost out to Davidson in 2011. Liam Kerr and Rachael Hamilton, two other frontbench MSPs, are to chair his campaign. | A remain voter who has since enthusiastically backed Boris Johnson’s Brexit stance, Carlaw been backed by several senior colleagues, including Murdo Fraser, a former leadership candidate who lost out to Davidson in 2011. Liam Kerr and Rachael Hamilton, two other frontbench MSPs, are to chair his campaign. |
| There had been speculation that Adam Tomkins, the constitutional affairs spokesman, could stand but Tomkins said he backed Carlaw. | There had been speculation that Adam Tomkins, the constitutional affairs spokesman, could stand but Tomkins said he backed Carlaw. |
| The Telegraph has reported party grandees would prefer to avoid a contest, arguing a three-month long leadership campaign will detract from their efforts to oppose Nicola Sturgeon’s government, with 15 months left to the next Holyrood election. | The Telegraph has reported party grandees would prefer to avoid a contest, arguing a three-month long leadership campaign will detract from their efforts to oppose Nicola Sturgeon’s government, with 15 months left to the next Holyrood election. |
| The Tories became the second largest party at Holyrood under Davidson’s leadership, winning 31 of its 129 seats in the 2016 election. | The Tories became the second largest party at Holyrood under Davidson’s leadership, winning 31 of its 129 seats in the 2016 election. |
| Nominations close at noon on 17 January. | Nominations close at noon on 17 January. |
| From New Statesman’s Stephen Bush | From New Statesman’s Stephen Bush |
| From HuffPost’s Paul Waugh | From HuffPost’s Paul Waugh |
| Last week, there was speculation that Labour’s national executive committee, which has a majority of members loyal to Jeremy Corbyn but which is far from 100% Corbynite, might try to fix the rules of the leadership contest to help Corbyn’s preferred candidate (widely assumed to be Rebecca Long Bailey, although some of Corbyn’s allies are pushing Ian Lavery as a candidate). But the decisions taken today (see 3.23pm) are in line with the plan announced by the party last month for the leadership contest to be over by the end of March (the party will miss this deadline, but only by a week), and it is hard to see anything partisan in the timetable. | Last week, there was speculation that Labour’s national executive committee, which has a majority of members loyal to Jeremy Corbyn but which is far from 100% Corbynite, might try to fix the rules of the leadership contest to help Corbyn’s preferred candidate (widely assumed to be Rebecca Long Bailey, although some of Corbyn’s allies are pushing Ian Lavery as a candidate). But the decisions taken today (see 3.23pm) are in line with the plan announced by the party last month for the leadership contest to be over by the end of March (the party will miss this deadline, but only by a week), and it is hard to see anything partisan in the timetable. |
| Candidates will have a week to get the 22 nominations they need from MPs and MEPs. Some of the candidates who have announced that they are standing may struggle to meet this threshold, but if they can’t get the numbers over a week, they are probably not in a strong position to complain. | Candidates will have a week to get the 22 nominations they need from MPs and MEPs. Some of the candidates who have announced that they are standing may struggle to meet this threshold, but if they can’t get the numbers over a week, they are probably not in a strong position to complain. |
| The window during which people can apply to vote as a registered supporter is open for just 48 hours, and a £25 fee will apply. These rules are a lot more restrictive than those in place in 2015. But they are the same as those in place in 2016, and so the NEC can argue it is just sticking with precedent. And in 2016 about 120,000 people managed to sign up during that period. (See 10.37am.) | The window during which people can apply to vote as a registered supporter is open for just 48 hours, and a £25 fee will apply. These rules are a lot more restrictive than those in place in 2015. But they are the same as those in place in 2016, and so the NEC can argue it is just sticking with precedent. And in 2016 about 120,000 people managed to sign up during that period. (See 10.37am.) |
| If candidates can get the requisite number of nominations from MPs, under rules introduced while Corbyn has been leader they have to clear a second nomination hurdle – either by getting 5% of the union/affiliate vote, or by getting nominations from 10% of constituency Labour parties (ie 33 of them). According to this useful explainer by Luke Akehurst, any candidate with the backing of one of the five big Labour unions – Unite, Unison, GMB, Usdaw and the CWU – should be able to clear the 5% union/affiliate hurdle easily. (They would need either two smaller unions, or a smaller union and a socialist society, backing them too, but that should not be a problem for someone with a big union behind them.) Getting the support of 33 CLPs might be harder, particularly for candidates not backed by Momentum (which is well organised at CLP level), but the NEC has given candidates a month to secure these nominations, which does not seem too unreasonable a timetable. | If candidates can get the requisite number of nominations from MPs, under rules introduced while Corbyn has been leader they have to clear a second nomination hurdle – either by getting 5% of the union/affiliate vote, or by getting nominations from 10% of constituency Labour parties (ie 33 of them). According to this useful explainer by Luke Akehurst, any candidate with the backing of one of the five big Labour unions – Unite, Unison, GMB, Usdaw and the CWU – should be able to clear the 5% union/affiliate hurdle easily. (They would need either two smaller unions, or a smaller union and a socialist society, backing them too, but that should not be a problem for someone with a big union behind them.) Getting the support of 33 CLPs might be harder, particularly for candidates not backed by Momentum (which is well organised at CLP level), but the NEC has given candidates a month to secure these nominations, which does not seem too unreasonable a timetable. |
| Here are the details of the timetable for the Labour leadership election decided by the NEC. | Here are the details of the timetable for the Labour leadership election decided by the NEC. |
| Tuesday 7 January: Nominations open from MPs and MEPs.Monday 13 January: Nominations from MPs and MEPs close at 2.30pm.Tuesday 14 January: Registered supporters applications open at 5pm.Thursday 16 January: Registered supporters’ applications close at 5pm.Wednesday 15 January: Second stage of nominations from constituency Labour parties and affiliates opens.Monday 20 January: Freeze date for eligibility for new members and affiliated supporters. Closes at 5pm.Friday 14 February: Close of CLP and affiliate nominations.Friday 21 February: Ballot opens.Thursday 2 April: Ballot closes at 12pm.Saturday 4 April: Special conference to announce results. | Tuesday 7 January: Nominations open from MPs and MEPs.Monday 13 January: Nominations from MPs and MEPs close at 2.30pm.Tuesday 14 January: Registered supporters applications open at 5pm.Thursday 16 January: Registered supporters’ applications close at 5pm.Wednesday 15 January: Second stage of nominations from constituency Labour parties and affiliates opens.Monday 20 January: Freeze date for eligibility for new members and affiliated supporters. Closes at 5pm.Friday 14 February: Close of CLP and affiliate nominations.Friday 21 February: Ballot opens.Thursday 2 April: Ballot closes at 12pm.Saturday 4 April: Special conference to announce results. |
| The NEC has announced the timetable for the leadership election. A Labour spokesman said: | The NEC has announced the timetable for the leadership election. A Labour spokesman said: |
| Here is more from the NEC meeting. | Here is more from the NEC meeting. |
| From ITV’s Paul Brand | From ITV’s Paul Brand |
| From the FT’s Jim Pickard | From the FT’s Jim Pickard |
| This is from HuffPost’s Paul Waugh. | This is from HuffPost’s Paul Waugh. |
| A £25 fee and a 48-hour registration period are what applied in 2016, when Labour last staged a leadership contest. It was assumed at the time that this might discourage people from registering, but it didn’t; around 120,000 people signed up and voted in the contest as registered supporters. (See 10.37am.) | A £25 fee and a 48-hour registration period are what applied in 2016, when Labour last staged a leadership contest. It was assumed at the time that this might discourage people from registering, but it didn’t; around 120,000 people signed up and voted in the contest as registered supporters. (See 10.37am.) |
| Ian Murray, Labour’s only surviving MP in Scotland, is preparing to enter the contest to become Labour’s deputy leader on a platform of constitutional reform and countering nationalism. | Ian Murray, Labour’s only surviving MP in Scotland, is preparing to enter the contest to become Labour’s deputy leader on a platform of constitutional reform and countering nationalism. |
| Murray, an arch-critic of Jeremy Corbyn and an opponent of Brexit, is expected to signal his intention to run tomorrow after being asked to stand by other Labour MPs. His plans to run are thought to depend on getting sufficient early nominations, but it would fuel the brewing conflict between the party’s pro-Corbyn wing and its centrists. | Murray, an arch-critic of Jeremy Corbyn and an opponent of Brexit, is expected to signal his intention to run tomorrow after being asked to stand by other Labour MPs. His plans to run are thought to depend on getting sufficient early nominations, but it would fuel the brewing conflict between the party’s pro-Corbyn wing and its centrists. |
| Before the election, the union Unite had attempted to block his nomination because of his open hostility to Corbyn and to Len McClusky, the Unite leader, but failed. | Before the election, the union Unite had attempted to block his nomination because of his open hostility to Corbyn and to Len McClusky, the Unite leader, but failed. |
| Murray held Edinburgh South on 12 December with an 11,095 (22.3%) majority while Labour suffered its worst general election result in Scotland of the modern era. It lost six of its seven MPs in another Scottish National party landslide after winning only 18.6% of the vote. | Murray held Edinburgh South on 12 December with an 11,095 (22.3%) majority while Labour suffered its worst general election result in Scotland of the modern era. It lost six of its seven MPs in another Scottish National party landslide after winning only 18.6% of the vote. |
| Party sources say Murray has told other MPs he believes Labour’s future and the UK’s survival rests on it tackling Scottish, English and Welsh nationalism, with a substantial constitutional reform programme. | Party sources say Murray has told other MPs he believes Labour’s future and the UK’s survival rests on it tackling Scottish, English and Welsh nationalism, with a substantial constitutional reform programme. |
| He has not yet specified what those reforms would involve, but he echoed a pledge in Labour’s manifesto to set up a constitutional convention or – if it eventually formed a UK government, through a royal commission. | He has not yet specified what those reforms would involve, but he echoed a pledge in Labour’s manifesto to set up a constitutional convention or – if it eventually formed a UK government, through a royal commission. |
| In a note circulated around the parliamentary party, he accused Corbyn, and by implication Ed Miliband, of failing to tackle nationalism effectively. He said: | In a note circulated around the parliamentary party, he accused Corbyn, and by implication Ed Miliband, of failing to tackle nationalism effectively. He said: |
| After listening to Angela Rayner’s speech this morning, my colleague Kate Proctor concluded it was hard to see why she was running for the deputy Labour leadership when she might be a strong candidate for leader. (See 12.23pm.) It is not hard to see why. It’s a good speech, with some compelling lines and a superb opening. | After listening to Angela Rayner’s speech this morning, my colleague Kate Proctor concluded it was hard to see why she was running for the deputy Labour leadership when she might be a strong candidate for leader. (See 12.23pm.) It is not hard to see why. It’s a good speech, with some compelling lines and a superb opening. |
| Here is the opening. | Here is the opening. |
| (It was Quentin Letts in the Daily Mail who compared Rayner to a Little Britain character.) | (It was Quentin Letts in the Daily Mail who compared Rayner to a Little Britain character.) |
| And here are some of the news lines from the speech. | And here are some of the news lines from the speech. |
| Rayner said it was a mistake for Labour to describe some of its policies are revolutionary when it would have been better to present them as common sense. | Rayner said it was a mistake for Labour to describe some of its policies are revolutionary when it would have been better to present them as common sense. |
| She said that some of Labour’s manifesto promises were seen as “glib promises of free things … and distrusted as much as any other sales pitch”. | She said that some of Labour’s manifesto promises were seen as “glib promises of free things … and distrusted as much as any other sales pitch”. |
| She said Labour leave supporters felt patronised by the party. She said: | She said Labour leave supporters felt patronised by the party. She said: |
| She said Labour should deal more firmly with antisemitism. | She said Labour should deal more firmly with antisemitism. |
| She said the coalition that had sustained the Labour party (the working class and the progressive middle class) was “broken”. Explaining how bad the election result was for Labour, she said it had lost working-class seats it had held for decades, that in some seats it had only won because the leave vote was split, and that the Tories were ahead of Labour by 40% to 23% among blue collar workers. And even in remain areas the party was vulnerable, she said: | She said the coalition that had sustained the Labour party (the working class and the progressive middle class) was “broken”. Explaining how bad the election result was for Labour, she said it had lost working-class seats it had held for decades, that in some seats it had only won because the leave vote was split, and that the Tories were ahead of Labour by 40% to 23% among blue collar workers. And even in remain areas the party was vulnerable, she said: |
| She said Labour was facing the biggest challenge in its history. | She said Labour was facing the biggest challenge in its history. |
| She said other social democratic parties were also facing the same problems. | She said other social democratic parties were also facing the same problems. |
| She said Labour needed a “collectivist” approach to its problems, and that she did not have all the answers herself. | She said Labour needed a “collectivist” approach to its problems, and that she did not have all the answers herself. |
| She said she owed much of her life to Labour, including policies introduced by the Blair government. | She said she owed much of her life to Labour, including policies introduced by the Blair government. |
| Here are some lines from Labour’s NEC meeting. | Here are some lines from Labour’s NEC meeting. |
| From the Yorkshire Post’s Geri Scott | From the Yorkshire Post’s Geri Scott |
| From the FT’s Jim Pickard | From the FT’s Jim Pickard |
| From the Telegraph’s Harry Yorke | From the Telegraph’s Harry Yorke |
| Keith Vaz sits on the NEC as the representative of BAME Labour. | Keith Vaz sits on the NEC as the representative of BAME Labour. |
| Downing Street has issued a read-out following Boris Johnson’s conversation with his Iraqi opposite number, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, this morning. A No 10 spokesperson said: | Downing Street has issued a read-out following Boris Johnson’s conversation with his Iraqi opposite number, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, this morning. A No 10 spokesperson said: |
| This morning, Tom Watson, the former deputy Labour leader, said he was worried that Rebecca Long Bailey would be a “continuity candidate”. (See 9.38am.) But Angela Rayner, who is standing to replace Watson as deputy leader and backing her friend and London flatmate for leader, told Sky News this claim was wrong. When it was put to her that she and Long Bailey were seen as Jeremy Corbyn continuity candidates, Rayner replied: | This morning, Tom Watson, the former deputy Labour leader, said he was worried that Rebecca Long Bailey would be a “continuity candidate”. (See 9.38am.) But Angela Rayner, who is standing to replace Watson as deputy leader and backing her friend and London flatmate for leader, told Sky News this claim was wrong. When it was put to her that she and Long Bailey were seen as Jeremy Corbyn continuity candidates, Rayner replied: |
| In her Guardian article last week, Long Bailey said she was backing Rayner for the deputy leadership. Rayner is reciprocating. But, in her Sky News interview, Rayner also said the fact that she was supporting her friend did not mean she was opposed to having anyone else as Labour leader. Asked who she wanted to lead the party, Rayner replied: | In her Guardian article last week, Long Bailey said she was backing Rayner for the deputy leadership. Rayner is reciprocating. But, in her Sky News interview, Rayner also said the fact that she was supporting her friend did not mean she was opposed to having anyone else as Labour leader. Asked who she wanted to lead the party, Rayner replied: |
| When asked if she would be happy to have Jess Phillips as party leader, Rayner replied: | When asked if she would be happy to have Jess Phillips as party leader, Rayner replied: |
| From my colleague Dan Sabbagh, the Guardian’s defence and security editor | From my colleague Dan Sabbagh, the Guardian’s defence and security editor |