The idiosyncratic electoral processes of the Labour Party are once more on the march as the Party elects a new leadership team. And for a few days, there was a danger that Bethnal Green & Bow MP Rushanara Ali may have become the Party’s national Deputy Leader.
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Labour Leader Ed Miliband MP stood down after Labour’s narrow General Election defeat and Harriet Harman MP (the former Deputy Leader) also resigned – though she is staying on as acting Leader until a permanent Leader can be chosen.
Labour’s new Leader and Deputy Leader will be chosen by all party members, individual affiliated members and registered supporters in a postal ballot later in the summer. Although Labour Party members in Tower Hamlets are banned from choosing their own candidates for Council seats, it is understood that they will be allowed to vote in the leadership contests.
To qualify as a candidate for Leader or Deputy Leader, Labour MPs had to be nominated by 35 other Labour MPs. With only hours to go before nominations closed, only two MPs had secured enough nominations to stand as Deputy Leader: Tom Watson and Caroline Flint. Four other MPs were close to the nomination threshold but had not crossed it: Stella Creasy (31), Angela Eagle (28) and Ben Bradshaw (25).
Rushanara Ali had entered the contest stating that she wanted to “talk to” Labour voters who had switched to UKIP at the General Election. Of course it might have been better for the Labour Party if they had talked to – or even listened to – these formerly loyal voters before they switched their votes.
This proved not to be a winning stance, and Ms Ali secured only 22 nominations from her fellow MPs. She withdrew from the contest, which allowed the MPs who had nominated her to nominate one of the others instead. As a result, all three fellow contenders received enough nominations to qualify as candidates.
Rushanara Ali’s act is being hailed by some – not least herself, and some of the three candidates who benefited – as a selfless act. Ms Ali tweeted (above), “We helped widen the field.” However, in reality there was very little choice or selflessness. Ms Ali had a choice of either withdrawing (and not being on the ballot paper) or not qualifying to be on the ballot paper. Either way, her attempt to become Deputy Leader was at an end as soon as it became clear how little support she had from fellow MPs.
Bethnal Green & Bow residents can therefore sleep safe in their beds: Ms Ali will be able to give you and your welfare her undivided attention for the next five years.