Rebecca Long-Bailey joins race to succeed Corbyn as Labour leader
Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey has joined the race to become Labour leader, saying the party needs a “proud socialist” to succeed Jeremy Corbyn.
With nominations due to open on Tuesday, Ms Long-Bailey – favourite of the Labour left – said she could be trusted to maintain “our socialist agenda”.
Her comments will be seen as a thinly veiled swipe at shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer, who has been keen to stress his left-wing credentials despite being seen to come from a more centrist tradition.
Writing in the Tribune magazine, she said: “Many candidates in the leadership election say they will not return to the triangulation and Tory-lite policies that held our party back before Jeremy.
With the climate crisis spiralling and the far-right on the march, we must regroup urgently for the struggles ahead.
Our task is to build a winning vision of a socialist future.https://t.co/P15RJx7ifI
— Rebecca Long-Bailey (@RLong_Bailey) January 6, 2020
“But we need a leader that can be trusted with our socialist agenda. A leader who is totally committed to the policies and has the political backbone to defend them.
“We need a proud socialist to lead the Labour Party, driven by their principles and an unwavering determination to see democratic socialism in our lifetime.
“For all of these reasons and more, I have decided to stand for election to become the next leader of our party.”
