Who should be the next Labour leader and why?

I heard that .... but why?

Chuka's withdrawn

Mary Creagh is from the North, not metropolitan London. She doesn't have the smooth appeal of Chuka, but that may be to her advantage because she could seem more trustworthy, honest and direct and could be seen as speaking common sense rather than metropolitan spin.

Labour candidates have to appeal to Labour voters, unions and Labour traditions while simulatneously appearing non-politically correct ad reaching out to the rest of the population.

& I hope he does

Keir Starmer, if he decides to go for it

Mary Creagh is a good speaker. She speaks slowly, not too fast, and emphatically. That inspires confidence. In my opinion she has been lumbered with some of the more politically correct ministries which aren't the major ones and that means that her real skills have not yet become evident.

I think she may surprise people and come up as a common sense candidate which is what many non-Labour voters believe that Labour lacks.

Non-Labour voters have had enough of politically correct preaching from Labour and anyone who can articulate a common sense vision and appeal to Middle England and Daily Mail readers will restore Labour's chances.

I don't know too much about Mary Creagh or Liz Kendall, but it's very exciting to see some new faces and some women standing for the leadership. It's going to be really interesting.

Meant to type Mary Creagh.

She is focusing on small business and has worked at Cranfield Institute of Management. Good stuff.

Very smart move byMary Ceagh. Launches leadership bid in Britain's most important newspaper - the Daily Mail.

It sounds like she is going for the common sense approach

'The moment I realised Labour lost Middle England... and my plan to win it back': MARY CREAGH launches leadership bid

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3081985/Mary-Creagh-launches-Labour-leadership-bid.html

I want to earn back the trust of the people who voted Ukip because their communities have been hit hard by globalisation, immigration and loss of manufacturing industries.

They sent a clear message: all Westminster politicians look and sound the same. Politics as usual is not the answer.

Labour lost the General Election because people did not trust us with the economy. Our campaign message focused almost exclusively on the NHS, an emotive issue for many of us, but in the end, not people's main motivation for voting.

People felt that Labour didn't understand their aspiration to earn money and provide a better life for their family.

People trust Labour to look after their schools, hospitals and council services. But they simply do not trust us to run the economy and make them better off. That must change.

Yes Andy Burnham is the best of a bad bunch really

The new labour leader has to appeal to traditional labour voters and the centre.

No point getting Blair (the return) if you lose your core voters.

I liked the idea of Jarvis but failing that Andy Burnham

Looked at the betting odds of putting a tenner on Chuka only to discover it's probably not worth it as if he wins I'll get bugger all of a return. Plus I can't be bothered having to wait until September to find out. The suspense is already killing me! I think I'm becoming a Chuka groupie. Help me. Please.

On the inability of the Labour Parliamentary Party not to be able to find some (so far) hidden talent within over 200 MPs from the likes of (a politically hostile) me, I'd say Chukka as well - but without any candidate having any 'wow factor' to the non believers, he'd have a tough job to conduct a POSITIVE campaign and still win the 2020 general election without some serious policies behind him.

Chuka definitely.
as a non labour voter he is the only candidate i can take seriously

Yvette Cooper as all Labour leadership candidates if successful, is likely to be the next Labour Prime Minister of this country.

Any candidate will come with their legal 'baggage', their spouses.

The last (and only) female UK Prime Minister had hers and I'm drawn to one of Denis Thatcher's more notable quotes on HIS role within the marriage and husband of the Prime Minister of the UK.

"Always present, never there"

Now with the best will in the world, could we expect to see Ed adopt a similar low profile role supporting Yvette without the use of duck tape, ropes, and tied to a chair somewhere?

If Labour had not decided that they need to evolve from the Old/New Labour past, Team Balls would have been a genuine 'two-for' offer the parliamentary Labour Party and their voters would gag for - but Ed is not known for playing well with others and the last thing the country would need with Yvette as PM, is an ideological conflict at home. IMO.

I'm not particularly inspired by any of them tbh. I am waiting and watching. No idea who I'll vote for. At the moment I'd vote for a reopening of nominations. None of them particularly appeal to my core beliefs.

I am already fed up with people harping on about who Yvette is married to. She doesn't stand a chance.

Either Chukka or Andy Burnham for me.
Both would make me consider voting Labour again. Not impressed by any of the others but I don't know that much about them atm.
I see Yvette Cooper has thrown her hat into the ring - what is it with these Ballses? Your husband is a liability and you are tainted by association. If she wins it would mean many more years in the wilderness for Labour.

Liz Kendall interviewed by Evan Davis on Newsnight. Poor performance. Platitudes and o thinking through of any positions. Shallow thinking. I think Chuka would have done a better job.

They are all hamstrung by the wrong philosophy. The candidate that is least wrong will make the most sense and be the best they can get.

I suppose Andy Burnham will start favourite. But why oh why take 6 to 9
months to make the choice???

Chuka is well thought of outside the labour party, as I mentioned on a previous thread the IoD chief economist really rates him, so he might be able to get business backing, especially if the alternative in 3 years is Boris Johnson.

I am hoping for Chuka and failing that then Andy Burnham. I think Chuka has the right charisma etc, he looks the part, he knows his business and he has a fresh look. He may appeal to young voters. Can't have anyone too associated with Blair etc and need a 'fresh start'.

I have read criticism about him but there isn't that much. Yes he went to private school but his life was hardly easy if you read into it. he said something about 'trash' on a rich social network apparently but he has apologized and is it really that big a deal if it was taken out of context? Only other thing I read was he stormed off TV interview but I watched it and it wasn't that bad. Some claim he is blairite but others that he isn't. People comment that he can't do it as he is black or has a 'foreign name' but those are frankly insulting.

Chuka is charismatic and I imagine would appeal to a lot of current Conservative voters, so if you want an electable Labour leader he may be the man. It would be great to have a black prime minister one day too. However I would think he may not get the support of unions or the traditional left thus losing core support. I like Burnham, maybe Cooper. It's a shame Jarvis counted himself out - his decision speaks volumes about him as a person. Politics needs people like him and he's highly regarded in my dh's home town.

I see MP Miss Kendal of Leicester has got out of the blocks fast in the Labour leadership campaign. She was on the BBC Womans Hour today giving it some wellie Is she your MP? I know very little about her

I've just joined the labour party ( stable door, horse bolted etc) but I feel I have to do something rather than swearing and moaning about the current situation. Just started looking at the possible candidates like the look of Chuka initially but a lot of chat about him seems a bit negative any more opinions? My views are probably towards the centre ( voted lib dem in 2010)