OK- fellow Labour Party members...

[BertrandRussell]

.....we’re all agreed that we need to be pragmatic, cynical and hard headed in the choice of the next leader and deputy, yes?

So, who? Who has a chance of getting us into power in the foreseeable future? Starmer and Philips?

Sorry to hear Phillips has dropped out. She is a valid, honest voice and I hope that whoever wins gives her a place in the shadow cabinet.

Not sure who I’m going to vote for now tbh.

I like her straight-talking but when it becomes a selling point (whether this is in politics or in 'real life') it changes into just a way to get attention and has the potential for stifling debate (in politics) or bullying (in real life). I felt she'd crossed that line recently and where I'd valued that trait previously, it was not actually achieving much. And lord knows the Labour Party need to bloody achieve something soon or they are toast.

I'll be voting for Emily if she gets on the final ballot. If not Lisa Nandy. I'm still torn between Burgon & Murray for deputy.

I can't decide. It won't be RLB certainly & it probably will be Starmer but Nandy is growing on me & I like Thornberry, although she's not calm enough. She could stand up to the Tories in the chamber though. For Deputy I think Murray would be a good move as we need to win big in Scotland. I like Dr Rosena & a new voice is always good. I don't mind Rayner. I certainly won't vote for Burgon or Butler & now that they've both refused to sign the anti-semitism pledge I think they should be removed from the contest.

It's not just about Labour party members is it? You're going to need to convince people like me - your classic floating voter - to vote for Labour again.

There is no way on earth that I'd vote for a party headed by Angela Rayner or Rebecca Long-Bailey. Too left wing. Too "Corbyn". Too blinkered to see the reason that Labour got hammered in the polls was all about Corbyn, his style and his flapping around over Brexit. A vote for that two is just more of the same and writing Labour off for the next decade.

Keir Starmer is by far, far the strongest candidate and the only one credible with centrist voters.

What do you think about Nandy PineappleDanish?

I’m genuinely interested. I happen to agree with you, it isn’t about the members. For me, it’s about wanting the best for everyone - And we need to be in government to achieve that practically not wittering on about idealistic fantasies.

At the moment I really don’t know where my vote is going. I wanted to vote for a woman. It won’t be RLB though.

I was sure I was going to vote for Keir Starmer but am now wavering a bit and considering Lisa Nandy, keep changing my mind. Will see how they get on at the later hustings which I think will be televised.

My choice for deputy is between Angela Rayner and lan Murray.

To be totally honest - I don't know that much about her. She was fairly low profile last parliament. Angela Rayner was forever on telly banging on about something, Starmer led the Brexit stuff and Thornberry was front bench too. Nandy seems fairly moderate - and she's a young woman which is a good thing for Labour in general - but I don't know that much about her. She's not a Corbynista though which is a definite point in her favour.

I’m not voting Ian Murray. If you’ve seen Emily Thornberry’s recent “I hate the SNP” bit, well, he’s cut from exactly the same cloth. Labour are absolutely failing on this issue. They appear totally unequipped to understand that it’s not the SNP that people are voting for, it’s whoever can promise a semi-socialist future. Whether it can be delivered or not is kind of immaterial when your choices are Tory (palpably evil), Labour (useless, stuck, bitter) or SNP (talk the talk and walk half the walk).