Labour leadership contender Lisa Nandy has proposed overhauling the honours system by removing reference to the British Empire in medals awarded to high-achieving individuals.
Citing Benjamin Zephaniah, the poet who rejected an OBE (officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 2003, the Wigan MP will say that she wants to alter the honours system that “shuts people out”.
At the time, Mr Zephaniah wrote: “It reminds me of slavery, it reminds me of the thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised.
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“Benjamin Zephaniah OBE – no way Mr [Tony] Blair, no way Mrs Queen. I am profoundly anti-empire.”
The awards are typically presented during a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace and hundreds of people are nominated each year, recognising their contribution to public service and their field of expertise.
The Order of the British Empire awards also consist of different ranks, including knight, dame, commander of the British Empire, officer of the British Empire and member of the British Empire.
1/10 Keir Starmer
The former director of public prosecutions undoubtedly has announced that he is standing for the leadership. He is highly-regarded by both left-wingers and centrists in the party. As Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, he played a key role in the party’s eventual backing of a second referendum.
Before becoming an MP, he was a human rights lawyer – conducting cases in international courts including the European Court of Human Rights. Launching his bid, Starmer said that Labour must listen to the public on how to change “restore trust in our party as a force for good.”
A YouGov poll places him comfortably in the lead as the preferred candidate of 36% of party members
EPA
2/10 Rebecca Long Bailey
A key ally of the current left-wing leadership of the party, the Salford & Eccles MP is viewed in some quarters as the natural successor to Mr Corbyn and describes herself as a “proud socialist”. Highly regarded by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell. She won also won plaudits for her performance filling in for Corbyn both at prime minister’s questions and during the general election debates.
The shadow business secretary grew up by Old Trafford football ground and began her working life serving at the counter of a pawn shop.
Launching her leadership bid, Long Bailey said the party needs to make the positive case for immigration as a “positive force.” She also broke with Corbyn over Trident, saying “If you have a deterrent you have to be prepared to use it.”
PA
3/10 Lisa Nandy
Wigan MP Lisa Nandy has announced she wil stand for the leadership. In a letter to the Wigan Post she said she wanted to bring Labour “home” to voters in its traditional strongholds who have abandoned the party. Nandy went on to say that she understands “that we have one chance to win back the trust of people in Wigan, Workington and Wrexham.” A YouGov poll shows that Nandy is the first preference for 6% of partymembers.
Getty
4/10 Emily Thornberry
Corbyn’s constituency neighbour and friend, Emily Thornberry, has been critical of the party’s Brexit stance, but has remained loyal to the leadership and has represented the Labour Party on various overseas visits.
The 59-year-old was brought up on a council estate near Guildford in Surrey by her mother when her father, a human rights lawyer and academic, walked out on his family. “I was born into the Labour Party,” she once said. “I was delivering leaflets by the age I could reach the letter box.”
First elected as MP for Islington South in 2005, the shadow foreign secretary has launched her bid for the leadership, but the party may be looking for a leadership outside its London stronghold.
After winning back her seat in same venue as Corbyn, she said: “We may be hurting tonight but we are not beaten. We will tell Boris Johnson no our fight is not over, our fight is just starting.”
Reuters
5/10 Angela Rayner – Deputy leadership
Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner has joined the contest for deputy leadership of the party. After ruling herself out of running for the leadership, the Ashton-under-Lynne MP launched her bid for deputy warning that Labour faces the “biggest challenge” in its history and must “win or die.” She is close with leadership contender Rebecca Long Bailey
PA
6/10 Rosena Allin-Khan – Deputy leadership
Shadow sport minister Rosena Allin-Khan said Labour need to listen with “humility” to lost voters as she launched her bid for the deputy leadership. Writing in The Independent, the MP for Tooting refelcted: “We shouldn’t have ignored the warning signs in Scotland, and now we’ve paid the price in northern England, across the midlands and in Wales.”
PA
7/10 Dawn Butler – Deputy leadership
Shadow women and equalities secretary Dawn Butler was first to announce her bid for the deputy leadership. The Brent Central MP has served in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet since 2016
PA
8/10 Ian Murray – Deputy leadership
Labour’s only MP in Scotland said that the architects of the party’s “catastrophic failure” in the December election can not be allowed to lead the party forward
PA
9/10 Khalid Mahmood – Deputy leadership
Shadow foreign minister Mahmood said living in the West Midlands puts him in the ideal place to win back lost voters as he launched his bid for the deputy leadership. “I’m not part of the metropolitan elite but in Birmingham, the workshop of Britain. I want to rebuild our country and the Labour Party.”
PA
10/10 Richard Burgon – Deputy leadership
Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon is standing as a continuity candidate, flaunting his loyalty to Jeremy Corbyn and saying it is wrong to blame the current leader for the election defeat
PA
1/10 Keir Starmer
The former director of public prosecutions undoubtedly has announced that he is standing for the leadership. He is highly-regarded by both left-wingers and centrists in the party. As Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, he played a key role in the party’s eventual backing of a second referendum.
Before becoming an MP, he was a human rights lawyer – conducting cases in international courts including the European Court of Human Rights. Launching his bid, Starmer said that Labour must listen to the public on how to change “restore trust in our party as a force for good.”
A YouGov poll places him comfortably in the lead as the preferred candidate of 36% of party members
EPA
2/10 Rebecca Long Bailey
A key ally of the current left-wing leadership of the party, the Salford & Eccles MP is viewed in some quarters as the natural successor to Mr Corbyn and describes herself as a “proud socialist”. Highly regarded by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell. She won also won plaudits for her performance filling in for Corbyn both at prime minister’s questions and during the general election debates.
The shadow business secretary grew up by Old Trafford football ground and began her working life serving at the counter of a pawn shop.
Launching her leadership bid, Long Bailey said the party needs to make the positive case for immigration as a “positive force.” She also broke with Corbyn over Trident, saying “If you have a deterrent you have to be prepared to use it.”
PA
3/10 Lisa Nandy
Wigan MP Lisa Nandy has announced she wil stand for the leadership. In a letter to the Wigan Post she said she wanted to bring Labour “home” to voters in its traditional strongholds who have abandoned the party. Nandy went on to say that she understands “that we have one chance to win back the trust of people in Wigan, Workington and Wrexham.” A YouGov poll shows that Nandy is the first preference for 6% of partymembers.
Getty
4/10 Emily Thornberry
Corbyn’s constituency neighbour and friend, Emily Thornberry, has been critical of the party’s Brexit stance, but has remained loyal to the leadership and has represented the Labour Party on various overseas visits.
The 59-year-old was brought up on a council estate near Guildford in Surrey by her mother when her father, a human rights lawyer and academic, walked out on his family. “I was born into the Labour Party,” she once said. “I was delivering leaflets by the age I could reach the letter box.”
First elected as MP for Islington South in 2005, the shadow foreign secretary has launched her bid for the leadership, but the party may be looking for a leadership outside its London stronghold.
After winning back her seat in same venue as Corbyn, she said: “We may be hurting tonight but we are not beaten. We will tell Boris Johnson no our fight is not over, our fight is just starting.”
Reuters
5/10 Angela Rayner – Deputy leadership
Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner has joined the contest for deputy leadership of the party. After ruling herself out of running for the leadership, the Ashton-under-Lynne MP launched her bid for deputy warning that Labour faces the “biggest challenge” in its history and must “win or die.” She is close with leadership contender Rebecca Long Bailey
PA
6/10 Rosena Allin-Khan – Deputy leadership
Shadow sport minister Rosena Allin-Khan said Labour need to listen with “humility” to lost voters as she launched her bid for the deputy leadership. Writing in The Independent, the MP for Tooting refelcted: “We shouldn’t have ignored the warning signs in Scotland, and now we’ve paid the price in northern England, across the midlands and in Wales.”
PA
7/10 Dawn Butler – Deputy leadership
Shadow women and equalities secretary Dawn Butler was first to announce her bid for the deputy leadership. The Brent Central MP has served in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet since 2016
PA
8/10 Ian Murray – Deputy leadership
Labour’s only MP in Scotland said that the architects of the party’s “catastrophic failure” in the December election can not be allowed to lead the party forward
PA
9/10 Khalid Mahmood – Deputy leadership
Shadow foreign minister Mahmood said living in the West Midlands puts him in the ideal place to win back lost voters as he launched his bid for the deputy leadership. “I’m not part of the metropolitan elite but in Birmingham, the workshop of Britain. I want to rebuild our country and the Labour Party.”
PA
10/10 Richard Burgon – Deputy leadership
Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon is standing as a continuity candidate, flaunting his loyalty to Jeremy Corbyn and saying it is wrong to blame the current leader for the election defeat
PA
Speaking in Bristol, an area that played a major role in the transatlantic slave trade, the Wigan MP, however, will say: “Bristol, a city which was built on the backs of the slave trade, is now led by Europe’s first directly elected black mayor.
“A Labour-led city whose citizens are showing leadership on climate change and compassion towards refugees. In doing so, Bristol is telling us a story about the Britain we can be.”
Addressing the honours system, she will add: “As prime minister I would give everyone receiving an honour the choice to receive an Order of British Excellence. The honours system, which should recognise the contribution of our people, shuts people out, rather than bringing them in.
“That is the country I want to build, and the Labour Party I will lead. That never accepts the world as it is but the world as it should be. As Benjamin Zephaniah asks: ‘What happened to the verse of fire?’ We can be far more ambitious.”
Her remarks come with just two weeks remaining in the second round of the party’s contest to find Jeremy Corbyn’s successor. Ms Nandy, alongside shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey and shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer, is through to the final ballot of members.
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Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, however, is struggling to gain momentum and so far has just nine out of a required 33 local Labour parties backing her campaign to be the next leader.
Ms Long-Bailey is also expected to use a campaign rally in Bristol to call for people to reject “tribalism” in their efforts to combat the climate emergency.
The Salford and Eccles MP will again highlight Labour’s manifesto commitment of a Green New Deal, and recommit to the aim of cutting the substantial majority of emissions by 2030. The Labour leadership candidate will say that every home should be insulated, investment should be put into 9,000 additional wind turbines, and a charging network to deal with 20 million electric cars should be created.
