Katy Balls Katy Balls

Labour prepares for life after Corbyn

issue 14 December 2019

Jeremy Corbyn’s election night speech did little to address the fact he led Labour to its worst result since 1935. However, he did at least acknowledge that he probably wasn’t the best person to lead the party into the next election. Many Labour MPs were quick to take to the airwaves to play the blame game – and in some cases position themselves for a bid for the top job.

Succession has been a main topic of conversation within the Labour party for some time now. In the days before the election, senior party figures were discussing how to replace Jeremy Corbyn should the party fail to win enough seats to form a government. Just as was the case in 2010 and 2017, ambitious candidates started to sound out colleagues and ready themselves to move quickly should the occasion call.

Now that situation has come to be – but it’s still not clear exactly when the leadership contest will commence.

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