Labour front-bencher Barry Gardiner will not now make a bid for election as the party’s next leader.
In a statement, Gardiner said:
I want to thank all my colleagues as well as the party activists and members of the public who encouraged me to stand for the Labour Leadership. I am now clear that at this late stage I cannot secure sufficient nominations to proceed to the next round. I have therefore decided not to stand for the leadership at this time. I will continue to serve the party loyally under whichever of my colleagues has the honour of leading our party forward to win the next General Election.
The race will not now include a Shadow Cabinet voice that fought to honour the 2017 Manifesto that won Labour 12.8m votes and an increase in its parliamentary seats. This is to the loss of the contest, the party and the members.
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The last socialist, the last chance, we have lost to Starmer now, we are lost and in the wilderness, the right wing takeover is sure to come.
he is far from being a true socialist ,,,, ehgage brain and look at his voting history
What shall we call the new party – and are you all OK with Corbyn for leader, Gardiner for deputy and Lavery as whip/henchman number one?
I think I prefer “Real Labour” to “Provo Labour” but I don’t mind – just as long as this time we take no shit and no prisoners.
He’s no socialist. It’s amazing that some on the Left are really falling for his shtick.
As mentioned, look at his voting record on the Tory Welfare Bill, Iraq War, the investigation into the Iraq War, and his membership of the Apartheid supporting LFI. Don’t give me the argument that he’s “loyal”, because he was loyal to Blair’s government and no doubt will be “loyal” to whomever wins the leadership.
Let’s not let obsessive stances on Brexit hoodwink the Left into supporting someone who has a record of standing against working class interests, as shown by his abstention on the Tory Welfare Bill for one. This support for Gardiner is just laughable.
Seems to me what we need most for now is someone to keep the media off our backs while we regroup, whether as leader or deputy or ‘media spokesperson’ or some such.
I don’t know if he’s the best of the bunch but he handles himself better under pressure on camera than any of the others I’ve seen.
Granted, the competition ain’t much.
He’s smart and smart people are best placed to assess the capabilities of others when team building.
The biggest thing I don’t know about him is where he sits on the left-right spectrum of the PLP.
Was he knobbled?
” a Shadow Cabinet voice that fought to honour the 2017 Manifesto”
For f.’s sake turn the record over. That was 3 years ago, (hadn’t you noticed another manifesto?) and the decision to tailgate Tory policy on Brexit was an election loser, if you hadn’t noticed – not a winner.
LexiTories have their wish, anyway – and it’s time to move on from sclerotic faux-nostalgia dressed up as leftery.
The line-up is far from promising, but Gardiner wouldn’t have improved it.
Spot on. The wrong call was made on the 24th of June 2016 by none other than Jeremy Corbyn. I Betcha wish – like all opposition parties save the SNP – that you had not fallen into the elephant trap BloJob set you. Just think, we could have still have that lovely hung parliament. But then I’m a convinced, out, proud and loud Europhile remainer. You’ll see why I was right as your rights are ruthlessly stripped away by these nationalist tax avoiding islanders. Bon chance.
I am very concerned the Rebecca LB and Clive Lewis both Corbyn supporters will be running against each other.This will split the Left nominations and vote and could let a right winger in. I would like to see one of them stand down to help ensure we elect a Socialist leader.
Little Becky has already got the required number of PLC nominations.but unfortunately Clive Lewis is currently struggling to attract the required number of PLP nominations. I suspect that his commitment to democratise the party’s structures may be the reason for this.
Although not perfect (what system is) the fact that we use an STV system for our leadership elections removes the need for candidates to step aside.
Some of us would appreciate the chance to vote for a candidate on the left who isn’t beholden to Jon Lansman.
Not if somebody gets enough votes on the first round it doesn’t but I accept this is unlikely
Lewis is on good form on Question Time tonight!
I agree, Clive was impressive and he seemed to be well received by the audience.
Smartboy
Dont think CL will get on ballot, Gardiner/Lewis out is a big plus for RLB
RLB/KS
Depends who you trust, methinks the MSM and toilet papers will apply pressure on key issues
Then there are the hustings,
I went in supporting Burnham and came out JC,
RBL is still in the running…
Anyone see George Galloway’s withering analysis of RLB’s talents? She is another of whom it can be said ‘there is less of her than meets the eye’. We need a proper socialist candidate, she isn’t it.
Galloway’s “analysis” is like a little kid running up to RLB, calling her “specky four eyes” and then running away giggling, thinking himself to be so clever.
Just watch this brilliant performance from just before GE19 to see what is behind Rebecca’s specs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WQJZS6bhJE
Becky is already facing ferocious sexism even from her own sex, with Telegraph’s Alison Pearson describing her as a cross between an alien and Mrs Merton (Pearson will know Mrs Merton is played by a man). This is on top of the ferocious time she will be given as a left-winger backed by Lavery and others on the left.
RLB is the candidate backed by the left.
Get behind her.
Mrs Merton was played by Caroline Aherne, just for the record.
”Mrs Merton was played by Caroline Aherne, just for the record.”
No surprise to see that alison pearson gets it wrong – AGAIN. As long as there’s a hole in her arse she’ll never get it right, the de piffle worshipping, vacuous magda goebbels alike..
F**k my life that these idiots and cranks we have as journalists these days earn so much for being so fucking thick.
Galloway’s main motivation just now is selling the new party he has set up.All actions and pronouncements should be examined with that in mind!.
np lose when you examine his voting reord
What this means is that there is nobody from the tiny socialist faction running in this race.
The Blair strategy of sealing the tomb in which the few remaining socialist MPs were left, and filling the PLP with clones of Tony and his ilk, has worked.
Corbyn was the exception proving the rule.
When he was defenestrated-by the Remainer strategists headed by McDonnell and Sir Kier – the game was over. And with Williamson having been knocked off there was no candidate left with the guts to take on the ruling class.
The Party’s over unless something very dramatic happens. New Labour is back with a vengeance.
If it is any consolation the PLP has no future, but its members don’t care, they’ve got pensions sewed up, they live like millionaires and now there is no likelihood of the Leader asking them to do anything embarrassing like standing up for the people of Venezuela or Gaza or the English poor.
Don’t give up. Only one JC right now but others will emerge and RLB could do a job for 3-5 years. And we really do need to have a female leader. BoJo does not cope well with strong and assertive women
I am also feeling very despondent about the present line up of Labour leadership “hopefuls”. Not one of them has anything like the stature of Jeremy Corbyn.
To make matters worse, socialists like Chris Williamson and Laura Pidcock are obviously out, the first having been thrown under a bus as a sacrifice to the BOD, whilst the second lost her seat.
I am really starting to think that Corbyn should stand again as Leader, or maybe just brazen it out and stay on.Who gives a fuck what the Tories think? Certainly he seems to be getting under their skin in a big way over Johnson’s absence from Parliament in the face of a Middle East crisis that could set off another genocidal war. If Labour reverts to its 2017 commitment to respect the 2016 Referendum and turns decisively away from its ‘turn the other cheek’ posture towards Zionists and the right, he may yet have a Dick Whittington moment.
None of the present line-up has a cat’s chance in hell of cutting it when it comes to kicking the Tories out. Blairites and crypto-Blairites all!
I have more than a little sympathy for what you say, Redveg! Indeed on Twitter JCs performance over the missile murder in Baghdad got people asking JC to stay on!
Disappointed Gardner not standing, but I hope he uses his great fighting talents in support of RLB, as Lavery has done.
But not as diisappointing as Lewis on QT tonight who completely failed to nail the reason for GE19 debacle: Our change in Brexit policy was catastrophic and snatched miserable defeat from what should have been a famous victory, as Skwawkbox has pointed out.
Oh Becky Long Bailey! Oh Becky Long Bailey…
Corbyn didn’t have the stature of Corbyn when he started as leader either Redveg.
And what’s the point in “really starting to think” that Jeremy should stand again as leader when you KNOW that it’s not going to happen AND that he is standing down once a new leader is elected. I mean we just lost a general election with the lowest number of MPs elected since 1935, and Jeremy has been subjected to the most vile and despicable smears and demonisation on an almost daily basis for over four years, and yet YOU want him to stand again and be subjected to it all again!
Have some respect for the man for crying out loud, along with the people who gave you a ‘Like’, who are no doubt all Tories, of one colour or another, and just having a laugh!
NB By my calculations, this is now about the sixtieth time this has been said since the day after the election. About ten days ago I counted TWENTY such comments in the five days after the GE – ie from the 13th to the 17th of December – and I have no doubt that it was repeated at least another twenty times from the 18th to the 24th AND it has been said at LEAST twenty times – and probably closer to THIRTY times – since just after Christmas.
Believe me, these people are just having a laugh, cos they know it’s not going to happen AND that the Establishment and their propaganda machine et al would go into overdrive if it did, as does Jeremy.
I wonder how many MORE times the shills are gonna repeat it!
There is still a lot of sexism about, and RLB is suffering it. I reference this from RLB again for emphasis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WQJZS6bhJE
RLB leaves the interviewer behind. No surprise…
Neither is it a surprise that she has been endorsed by John McD & Lavery
My function in life is not to be a politician in parliament,but to get somthing done…..wise words of Bernadette Devlin peoples democracy in Ulster and an example of never giving up….but the warning of parliament and the people who frequent it…..sad 😢 but true.
Before you go voting for Starmer he has just appointed Matt Pound head of labour first to his team. The only socialists now are RLB and Richard Burgeon. This will be my trigger for leaving labour if he gets the vote.