As Jeremy Corbyn loses his second election in as many years and announces he’ll stand down as Labour leader, the conversation has quickly turned to who will replace him.
For the first time in Labour’s history it could be a woman, with six women rumoured to be waiting in the wings to take over the job. Jess Phillips, the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, is the first to throw her hat into the ring.
Speaking to ITV News in the early hours of this morning, Jess called the result – which saw Labour receive its most crushing defeat since 1935 – ‘totally devastating’ and said it felt like a ‘kick in the stomach.’
Asked if she would replace Jeremy Corbyn, she nodded, acknowledging that people wanted her to stand.
When a BBC reporter asked her about being the next Labour leader, she said: ‘I don’t rule it out because I don’t lie for start off, so I don’t rule it out. I think the idea that we just replace the person at the top and everything will be tickety boo. It sounds awful and I can’t say this without sounding completely arrogant, but I know that people in the country think I’m approachable and likeable and lots of people will say that they like me, but it isn’t enough. Me as well. I have to have a considerable amount to offer. More than just that people like me. I want to rebuild the Labour party. I want to rebuild trust. I want people to think that they are part of our political system and feel proud of it again. To be proud of our democracy – and that’s a long way to go. So, I’m not going to rule it out. I’m not going to rule it in.’
I don’t rule it out because I don’t lie for start off.
She told ITV: ‘The reality is that I will take part in rebuilding the Labour party no matter what happens… We have got to rebuild trust - that's not just about me, it's about so much more. If people trust me, then yes I will take a role in rebuilding.’
After admitting she hadn’t slept in 48 hours, she added: ‘I don't know what's going to happen next. But what I do know is if we think it's just a popularity contest at the top of the party...then we will inevitably end up in a poor situation.’
Other Labour women in line to replace Corbyn are the Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner, Shadow Business Secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey, Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry, Yvette Cooper, who has spent time as a senior Labour frontbencher when Labour were last in Government, and the Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott.
Labour’s Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer and Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell are also thought to be possible contenders.
The Conservatives have had two female leaders, Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May, but a female leader would be a significant first for Labour, who have always had more female MPsthan the Conservatives, but never in the top job.
Any MP hoping to enter the race needs the support of 10% of the party’s MPs and MEPs in order to get on the ballot of members. Labour leaders are elected using a ‘one member one vote’ (OMOV) system, where all Labour members, affiliated supporters and registered supporters have one vote of equal value.
Speaking to reporters at Birmingham's International Convention Centre, Jess added: ‘I am very emotional, not just for me or the Labour Party - I am emotional for the people that the Labour Party was invented to help.'
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