“ If you want a Labour leader who can win the next election then start by answering the question: who do the Tories fear most?”

[BertrandRussell]

Matt Ford just posted this on Twitter.

Who do you think? I think it has, sadly, to be someone who looks and sounds like them and can fight them on their territory. Has to be Kier Starmer.

I reckon Keir Starmer as leader / Angela Rayner as deputy could be a good combination

Keir is the only sensible choice. P.S He's named after Keir Hardie

Dan Jarvis or Kier Starmer.
Unfortunately it needs to be a white Mc man I think

Joanna Cherry - need her to defect from the SNP!

Now I think KS's main disadvantage is being a white mc man - but despite that I think he's probably the best choice & will most likely be voting for him (assuming he's on the list).

But yes, evidently this was what his parents had in mind when they named him!
Unfortunately it mostly makes me think of Brass and Keir Hardie's Cap (anyone else remember Brass?)

There is a rumour that Keir is actually very left wing but hides it cos he knows it is unpalatable. Could make him an interesting leader.

Jess Phillips?

The fundamental issue is that the Tory party listen to the electorate and produce a leader/manifesto that plays to what they want to hear (ruthlessly dispatching leaders/policies that don't hit the mark).

The Labour Party listen to the membership, lobby groups like momentum and trade unions and produce leaders/policies they they think they can "educate" the electorate into liking/voting for on the basis of a "woke" sense of social morality/justice that simply doesn't resonate and comes across as arrogant and condescending.

Hits the nail on the head.

I'm not sure that's really constructive though. Surely it's more helpful to consider (as this thread does) which leaders might be successful, rather than slagging off 'The Labour party' (the members? the MPs? the unions? - all probably make different errors in choosing leaders) in a non-specific sort of way. (I'd also point out IDS, William Hague and a few others as rather less on point Tory leadership choices )

Surely it's more helpful to consider (as this thread does) which leaders might be successful

Is there a potential leader willing to listen to the views of the electorate? So, not Started, who is apparently, 'very straight and won't play to please a crowd'. As a politician, elected to represent people, surely you should be trying to please the crowd?

A PP mentioned Andy Burnham. I think he did well to get out of Westminster politics when he did, is making a decent fist of being the mayor of Manchester (he handled the aftermath of the dreadful MEN attack sensitively) and is waiting for his moment.

The new leader is almost bound to lose the next election .. so I ask myself who is willing to do all the work to build up support again, then have to hand over the leadership to someone who has a realistic chance of being PM next time round?

Personally, I really like Jess Phillips. I think she's courageous and genuine but I'm not sure she has wide enough appeal unfortunately.

So far I have seen the following possible candidates:

Yvette Cooper
Keir Stamer
Rebecca L B
Jess Philips
Clive Lewis
Emily Thornberry

I think Keir might be more of a uniting figure but I have heard that some key figures really don't like him

Clive is a very good communicator and his military background will appeal

Rebecca I think is too robotic and I think people will think too young

Yvette will be seen too much of the right and will be tinged by Blair

Jess doesn't really inspire

Emily can be a good communicator but I think can come across as patronising so I suspect not liked by public

I think Keir or Clive might both have the charisma people talk about but I am always a bit wary of charisma.

Are there other possible candidates?

Both Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham are doing really well in their respective cities, doing a decent job of holding together a very disparate population, but almost certainly because they’re empathetic figureheads and excellent managers of civil servants, not because they’re adept party politicians. Arguably London and Manchester are anomalies within the country, and I wouldn’t expect them to appeal elsewhere. Sadiq for sadly obvious reasons (although his liberal beliefs ironically make him unacceptable to more traditional Muslims), and Andy because a huge number of Southern centrists are prejudiced against Northerners even if they can’t bring themselves to admit it.

Kier is too intellectual to appeal to the majority, and doesn’t have the guile or charisma to succeed as a party politician. I bet Dan Jarvis does though. They’d make a formidable double act if they teamed up. This isn’t an age of conciliatory politics, much as I’d like it to be, which is why the women don’t stand a chance.