Six candidates announce interest to lead Britain’s Labour Party

Six candidates on Tuesday announced their interest in succeeding Jeremy Corbyn as the leader of Britain’s Labour Party.

Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow secretary of state for business, confirmed her candidacy on Tuesday.

She is seen as belonging to the party’s hard-left faction and a “continuity candidate.”

“I still support Jeremy because I felt that he was the right man with the right moral integrity to lead the party,’’ she told the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Meanwhile, Labour suffered heavy losses in December’s general election.

Announcing her candidacy, Long-Bailey said in an article in the magazine Tribune that Labour needed a “socialist leader who can work with our movement, rebuild our communities and fight for the policies we believe in.”

She conceded that Labour had a “mountain to climb” to return to office however believed it was possible if the party maintained its socialist values.

Other leadership candidates include shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer, who is seen as more centrist, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, shadow treasury secretary Clive Lewis as well as members of parliament Jess Phillips and Lisa Nandy.

Labour’s new leader and deputy leader will be announced on April 4.

“Members of parliament are set to question the candidates at a private meeting in Westminster,’’ Britain’s Press Association reported.

Labour’s around half-a-million members make the final decision via preferential ballot, with the least-popular candidate omitted during each round of voting until a winner is found.

(dpa/NAN)