As Ed Balls prepares to announce his intention to stand in the forthcoming Labour leadership election, Sunny Hundal is doing his bit to widen the field of would-be Labour leaders still further by encouraging MPs to sign John McDonnell’s nomination papers.
Nominations close a week tomorrow and any candidate that wants to enter the race needs at least 33 signatories.
McDonnell has already complained that the brief nomination period disadvantages less established candidates while benefiting well-known faces such as the former foreign secretary David Miliband. “I think it undermines the democratic process from the outset,” he told the BBC News Channel.
The blogosphere might now be McDonnell’s salvation. Writing on his Liberal Conspiracy blog today, Hundal says he is convinced the “party needs a strong left-wing voice and John is the obvious candidate”.
Hundal lists the MPs who backed McDonnell in May 2007 prior to Tony Blair’s departure. (In the end, Gordon Brown was spared a leadership contest three years ago.) He also lists other members of the Socialist Campaign Group who didn’t nominate him last time around, and encourages readers to “pick one or two names, find out their office numbers, call them and politely ask whether they would be nominating John McDonnell and why it’s important that they do”.
These nominated him last time
1. Diane Abbott MP, Hackney North and Stoke Newington
2. Ronnie Campbell MP, Blyth Valley
3. Martin Caton MP, Gower
4. Michael Clapham MP, Barnsley West and Penistone
5. Katy Clark MP, North Ayrshire and Arran
6. Harry Cohen MP, Leyton and Wanstead
7. Frank Cook MP, Stockton North
8. Jeremy Corbyn MP, Islington North
9. Jim Cousins MP, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central
10. Ann Cryer MP, Keighley
11. David Drew MP, Stroud
12. Bill Etherington MP, Sunderland North
13. Mark Fisher MP, Stoke-on-Trent Central
14. Paul Flynn MP, Newport West
15. Neil Gerrard MP, Walthamstow
16. Dr Ian Gibson MP, Norwich North
17. Nia Griffith MP, Llanelli
18. David Heyes MP, Ashton-under-Lyne
19. Kelvin Hopkins MP, Luton North
20. Lynne Jones MP, Birmingham, Selly Oak
21. Michael Meacher MP, Oldham West and Royton — stepped down
22. Gordon Prentice MP, Pendle
23. Linda Riordan MP, Halifax — has endorsed Ed Miliband
24. Alan Simpson MP, Nottingham South
25. Dennis Skinner MP, Bolsover
26. David Taylor MP, North West Leicestershire
27. Robert Wareing MP, Liverpool, West Derby
28. Mike Wood MP, Batley and SpenOther members of the Socialist Campaign Group who didn’t nominate him
29. David Anderson MP
30. John Cryer MP
31. David Hamilton MP — has endorsed Ed Miliband
32. Kelvin Hopkins MP
33. Ian Lavery MP
34. Austin Mitchell MP
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