LISA NANDY has made a plea for rebuilding "a more compassionate, resilient country" as the postal ballot for the Labour leadership election closed on Thursday (2).
The Wigan MP had called on the party to be "brave" and elect her during a series of hustings around the country.
Nandy, 40, along with the other candidates, had halted active campaigning last month due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“Labour must show real leadership to help lead us through this crisis and rebuild a more compassionate, resilient country on the other side,” Nandy said on Twitter as voting closed.
"Last time we had an economic crisis the government responded with austerity. This time we have to get it right. We need the equivalent of a Marshall Plan to rebuild our public services and ensure all parts of the country come through this – and Labour must ensure we get it,” she said.
Writing for Wigan Today earlier in the day, Nandy said Chancellor Rishi Sunak's announcements on support for workers and the self-employed was "a sign that the government is starting to get this right at last".
She added that it was time "to throw out party politics and work through this together."
"That’s why we need a cross-party National Cobra – a formal structure that would ensure the government, opposition, trade unions and business leaders work alongside devolved governments, charities and community leaders to build a common national action plan and stand behind it," she wrote.
Meanwhile, over 784,000 members, affiliates and registered supporters were entitled to participate to the voting for the new Labour leader. As per reports, Keir Starmer emerged as the frontrunner in the race that began on February 24.
A latest survey from YouGov revealed that the former shadow Brexit Secretary in Corbyn’s shadow Cabinet, who stood on a “unity” platform in the three-month long contest, has a commanding lead over his rivals and could win on first preference votes in the preferential ballot system.
Rebecca Long-Bailey, the third shortlisted candidate, had revealed that all candidates had been asked to record a victory speech “so it can be sent out over the airwaves as quickly as possible” this weekend.
Angela Rayner, the shadow Education Secretary, has emerged as the favourite in the deputy leadership contest as she competes against Pakistani-origin Rosena Allin-Khan and fellow Labour MPs Dawn Butler, Ian Murray, and Richard Burgon.
As many as 114,000 new members who had joined since the December 2019 General Election, when Labour suffered a bruising defeat with its lowest number of seats since 1935, voted alongside members of affiliated trades unions and groups for the postal ballot.
Around 14,700 "registered supporters", who paid £25 to take part on a one-off basis, were also part of the preferential voting system in which the candidates are ranked in order of preference.
If no candidate secures more than half the first preference votes, the second preference votes of the lowest-ranked candidate are redistributed until the winner can be declared.
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