Sebastian Payne

Could Burnham or Cooper stand again in the next Labour leadership contest?

Does it matter who comes second in the Labour leadership contest? According to the polls and bookies, Andy Burnham is vying for second place with Yvette Cooper. Ladbrokes currently have Corbyn on 1/4 to be the next leader, Burnham 7/2 and Cooper 10/1. Assuming these predictions are right and Corbyn wins, it seems unlikely he will hang on through to the 2020 general election.

How would he go? In the Spectator this week, Isabel looks at the various plots to get rid of Corbyn — despite the fact he hasn’t even been elected yet. One mooted idea is that he would be forced to resign by his fellow MPs:

Some Labour MPs say they would refuse to recognise Corbyn’s authority. The joke is that they’ll follow Corbyn’s approach to loyalty on key policies and votes (he defied his party whip more than any other Labour MP). One MP says: ‘He says he rebels because he’s got principles. Well, so do I, and I’m not voting for what he stands for.

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