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The 2016 Labour Party leadership election was called when a challenge to
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
as Leader of the Labour Party arose following criticism of his approach to the Remain campaign in the referendum on membership of the European Union and questions about his leadership of the party. Following a period of tension over Corbyn's leadership, the immediate trigger to events was the Leave result of the referendum.
Hilary Benn Hilary James Wedgwood Benn (born 26 November 1953) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds South, formerly ...
, the
Shadow Foreign Secretary The shadow secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, commonly called the shadow foreign secretary, is a position within the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), UK official opposition shadow cabinet th ...
, was dismissed by Corbyn on 25 June after Benn expressed no confidence in him. More than two dozen members of the Shadow Cabinet resigned over the following two days, and a no-confidence vote was supported by 172 MPs in the
Parliamentary Labour Party The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in the British House of Commons. The group comprises the Labour members of parliament as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes ...
, against 40 supporting Corbyn. It was reported that Tom Watson, the Deputy Leader, told Corbyn that he would face a challenge to his position as leader. Corbyn stated that he would not resign. By the end of June, Angela Eagle and
Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a British lobbyist and former Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician. Smith was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontypridd (UK Parliament constituency), Pontypridd from 2 ...
were being promoted as intending to contest the leadership. Eagle announced her candidacy on 11 July, and Smith did likewise on 13 July. The National Executive Committee decided that, as the incumbent, Corbyn would be automatically included on the ballot without requiring nominations from the parliamentary party; some political analysts had previously predicted that Corbyn would struggle to obtain the requisite number of signatures had that been required. Eagle pulled out of the race on 19 July, leaving Smith to challenge Corbyn for the leadership in a head-to-head race; Eagle said that she would back Smith after she had attracted fewer nominations. Smith told the BBC that Eagle was a "star" and that she would be "at isright hand" if he won the leadership. The result was announced on 24 September 2016. Corbyn won the election with 313,209 votes, increasing his share of the vote from 59.5% to 61.8% compared with the result of the 2015 leadership election and receiving some 62,000 more votes than in 2015.


Background


2015 leadership election

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
was one of four candidates for the Labour Party leadership in the 2015 leadership election triggered by the resignation of
Ed Miliband Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...
as leader. He qualified for the ballot at the last minute, nominated by 36 MPs, the majority of whom did not support him but felt that the party should be able to vote on a wider range of candidates. Despite being the most unpopular option with the
Parliamentary Labour Party The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in the British House of Commons. The group comprises the Labour members of parliament as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes ...
, with only 13 MPs voting for him, he received 59.5% of the first preference votes from an electorate consisting of party membership, members of affiliated trade unions and supporters who paid £3 to have a vote.


Leadership challenge

When it became clear that
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
would win the leadership election in 2015, the possibility of a challenge to his leadership was predicted by then Labour MP
Simon Danczuk Simon Christopher Danczuk ( ; born 24 October 1966) is a British author and former Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) who represented the constituency of Rochdale (UK Parliament constituency), Rochdale between 2010 ...
. A leadership challenge was then much discussed in the British press in November due to a split in the parliamentary party over the prospect of Britain's participation in air strikes in Syria. Another potential challenge was predicted in April after
Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...
's allegedly
anti-semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
comments led to his suspension, and Shadow Cabinet members allegedly held talks with plotters. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' reported that "a small group of Labour MPs and advisers had been telling journalists for months to 'expect movement' against Corbyn on 24 June."


After the referendum

The pressure on Corbyn intensified as a result of the European Union referendum and dissatisfaction with his level of support for the losing Remain campaign. On 25 June, a 'Saving Labour' campaign website was created, to encourage members of the public to email MPs to urge them not to back Corbyn.


Shadow Cabinet resignations

On 25 June
Hilary Benn Hilary James Wedgwood Benn (born 26 November 1953) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds South, formerly ...
, a critic of Corbyn, contacted members of the shadow cabinet to inform them that he had lost confidence in Corbyn. He was subsequently sacked as shadow Foreign Secretary, triggering a series of Shadow Cabinet resignations; at least 20 individuals resigned over the next few days. An article in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'', published online at 10 pm on 25 June, claimed that Benn had been sounding out a challenge against Corbyn. Corbyn assembled a new Shadow Cabinet, and insisted that he would not resign.


Vote of no confidence

A
vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
in Corbyn was made by the parliamentary party on 28 June, with Corbyn losing the vote by 172 to 40, with four spoiled ballots and thirteen absentees. However Labour Party rules did not require Corbyn to resign as a result of the vote. Corbyn struggled to fill a new Shadow Cabinet, which had to be reduced in size from 31 to 25. The
Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
sought to argue that they should become the official Opposition in the Commons with Labour unable to fill the role.


Leadership challenge

Corbyn continued to refuse to step down as leader, saying that the ballot had "no constitutional legitimacy" and he would not "betray" the members that elected him in the 2015 leadership election. In order to challenge an incumbent leader, a serving Labour MP needed to gather the support of at least 20% of Labour MPs (15% of Labour MPs and also MEPs being required if a leader has resigned). Angela Eagle, a former member of his Shadow Cabinet who resigned after Benn's sacking, was said on 30 June to have the number of backers required to launch a challenge. Separate meetings to discuss the situation were held by Corbyn and Watson with UNITE trade union leader
Len McCluskey Leonard David McCluskey (born 23 July 1950) is a British trade unionist. He was General Secretary of Unite the Union, the largest affiliate and a major donor to the Labour Party. As a young adult, he spent some years working in the Liverpool D ...
on 5 July. Following the sacking of
Hilary Benn Hilary James Wedgwood Benn (born 26 November 1953) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds South, formerly ...
, and the vote of no confidence in Corbyn's leadership, over 100,000 new members were reported to have joined the Labour Party by 8 July, taking membership numbers above 500,000. Both supporters and opponents of Corbyn signed up new members. By 8 July there were no declared leadership challengers, Corbyn had not resigned, and both his supporters and some critics considered that he was in a good position to win any leadership vote. Corbyn challenged the rebels to stand against him, and it was reported that Eagle had secured the support of at least the requisite number of nominations needed to launch a leadership bid. The following day, Eagle announced that she would formally launch her campaign on 11 July. In her speech, Eagle said "
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
is unable to provide the leadership this huge task needs." The party's National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on 12 July was expected to consider the arrangements for an election. The arrangements were decided by secret ballot with the vote 18 to 14 in favour of the incumbent leader being automatically on the ballot. The NEC also decided to not allow members who joined the party in the past six months to vote in the leadership election, so the approximately 130,000 new members who had joined since the European Union referendum would be unable to vote. Instead registered supporters were given a period of two days to register, at a fee of £25, to be entitled to vote. Additionally the NEC ruled that local
Constituency Labour Parties A constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary constituency. In England and Wales, CLP boundaries coincide with those for UK parliamentary constituencies. In Sc ...
should not hold members' meetings during the leadership election period. There was pressure before the nominations close on 20 July for one of the two challengers, either Smith or Eagle, to withdraw in order to unify the anti-Corbyn campaign. The two agreed between themselves that whoever had fewest nominations from MPs/MEPs by the end of the working day on 19 July would withdraw in favour of the other. Eagle, with about 20 fewer nominations, did so, leaving Smith as the only challenger to Corbyn. She pledged her support for his campaign. Smith explained that his decision to run for leader was partly because the future of the Labour party was at risk, stating that the "possibility of split is dangerously real".


Reaction

Andrew Rawnsley, chief political commentator for ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'', described the leadership race as a crisis for Labour, which he saw as "fighting for its life." On 24 July 2016, he discussed the "mutiny" against Corbyn by the majority of MPs who voted against him in the no confidence motion but warned that they "do not have the backing of a large chunk of the party selectorate arty members who will vote in the leadership electionthat picks the leader... ut that selectorateis wildly unrepresentative of the voters that Labour must persuade if the party is to survive as a plausible opposition, never mind become a viable competitor for power." Leadership contender
Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a British lobbyist and former Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician. Smith was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontypridd (UK Parliament constituency), Pontypridd from 2 ...
had supported the campaign for Britain to
remain Remain may refer to: * ''Remain'' (José González EP) * ''Remain'' (KNK EP) *''Remain'', poetry book by Jennifer Murphy, 2005 *''Remain'', album by Tyrone Wells, 2009 *''Remain'', album by Great Divide, 2002 *''Remain'', album by Them Are Us ...
in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, in the referendum on Britain's membership in June 2016. During an interview with the BBC, Smith opined that those who had voted with the Leave faction had done so "because they felt a sense of loss in their communities, decline, cuts that have hammered away at vital public services and they haven't felt that any politicians, certainly not the politicians they expect to stand up for them, the Labour Party, has been standing up for them."


Procedure

The election was conducted under a pure "one member, one vote" (OMOV) system, as had been the case at the 2015 leadership election. Candidates would be elected by members and registered and affiliated supporters, who all receive a maximum of one vote and all votes will be weighted equally. This means that, for example, members of Labour-affiliated trade unions need to register as affiliated Labour supporters to vote. To stand, challengers needed to be nominated by at least 20% of the combined membership of the
Parliamentary Labour Party The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in the British House of Commons. The group comprises the Labour members of parliament as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes ...
(PLP) and European Parliamentary Labour Party, i.e. 51 MPs/MEPs, at the time. As the incumbent,
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
, by decision of the National Executive Committee, was automatically included on the ballot. The vote, as in previous elections, was held under the alternative vote ( instant-runoff) system. The election itself was overseen by Electoral Reform Services.


Timetable

The Special Conference at the end of the Collins Review concluded that all selection timetables should be, once started, as short as possible. The Collins Report also states: "The NEC should agree the detailed procedures for leadership elections including issues regarding registration, fees, and freeze dates". The party required members to hold six months' continuous party membership on the freeze date to be eligible to take part in a selection. The meeting of Labour's National Executive Committee on 12 July 2016 set a timetable and procedure for the election. Though the party confirmed the timetable would be released when the leadership contest process begins on Thursday 14 July, the timetable was leaked immediately following the NEC meeting. The voting eligibility freeze date for membership is 12 January 2016 – those who joined after that date will have to pay £25 to sign up as a registered supporter in the two day window during the week of 18 July. Members of affiliated trade unions, socialist societies and other affiliated organisations who individually sign up as an "affiliated supporter" to the Labour Party must have been a member of that organisation on or before 12 January 2016; the deadline to sign up as an "affiliated supporter" is 8 August 2016. Affiliated supporters already on the Party's membership system will be eligible to vote, subject to affiliates reconfirming their eligibility. Originally, many people sought to join organisations such as UNITE to gain a vote without paying Labour's £25 "registered supporter" fee; however, due to the freeze date for voter eligibility also applying to "affiliated supporters", this union route will not be a possible way to gain a vote. On 8 August 2016 the High Court decided that the decision to disbar from voting members who joined in the six month preceding the election being called was contrary to the
Labour Party Rule Book Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labou ...
, and they were entitled to vote. This decision cast some doubt on the election timetable. In a critical passage of his judgement, Mr Justice Hickinbottom found that "Furthermore, there is no evidence of any suggestion by the Party, the NEC, the Collins Review or any member of the Party that a freeze date could be retrospective, until the Procedures Paper that Mr McNicol prepared for the 12 July 2016 NEC meeting. Indeed, the very opposite." The Procedures sub-committee of the NEC immediately appealed the decision, and on 12 August 2016 the
Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...
reversed the High Court's decision. It concluded that under the party rules, the NEC had discretion to set any reasonable criteria for members to vote, and that there was no reason why an eligibility freeze date could not be in the past. The election timetable was as follows: * ''Tuesday 12 January 2016'' – Members must join the Labour Party on or before this date to vote in the leadership election. * ''Tuesday 12 July 2016'' – Timetable agreed. * ''Thursday 14 July 2016'' – Timetable published. * ''Monday 18 July 2016'' – EPLP and PLP briefing, followed by EPLP and PLP hustings. Registered supporters applications open. * ''Monday 18 July 2016 (19:00)'' – EPLP and PLP nominations open. * ''Wednesday 20 July 2016 (17:00)'' – EPLP and PLP nominations close and supporting nominations open. Last date to join as registered supporter. * ''Thursday 21 July 2016 (12:00)'' – Deadline for validly nominated candidates to consent to nomination. * ''Friday 22 July 2016 – Hustings period opens. * ''Monday 8 August 2016 (12:00)'' – Final date for membership arrears to be paid in full. Final date for updated affiliated supporter lists to be renewed. * ''Monday 15 August 2016 (12:00)'' – Supporting nominations close. * ''Monday 22 August 2016'' – Ballot mailing despatched. * ''Wednesday 14 September 2016 (12:00)'' – Last date for electronic ballot reissues. * ''Friday 16 September 2016'' – Hustings period closes. * ''Wednesday 21 September 2016 (12:00)'' – Ballot closes. * ''Saturday 24 September 2016 (11:45)'' – Special conference to announce result.


Candidates

There had been some doubt over whether Corbyn would have been able to stand if he had needed to obtain 51 nominations like his challengers, as only 40 MPs supported him in the no-confidence motion and because the demand for Corbyn's resignation was the "majority position" of Labour's 20 MEPs. On 12 July the National Executive Committee ruled that as the incumbent, Corbyn would automatically be included on the ballot by an 18–14 vote. The party's lawyers, GRM Law, as well as James Goudie, had argued the party's constitution required Corbyn to secure nominations, but conflicting legal advice obtained by the Labour Party
leadership Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...
and UNITE from Doughty Street Chambers and Michael Mansfield, respectively, argued Corbyn should not need to obtain MP/MEP support to be placed on the ballot of a leadership election, as the party rules only mentioned the need for challengers to receive nominations, and did not explicitly specify the same requirement for the incumbent. During the last leadership challenge on an incumbent leader ( in 1988, with Corbyn a supporter of the challenge), the incumbent,
Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a Welsh politician who was Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 Labour Party le ...
, did seek and obtain nominations, but some commentators, including
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's Andrew Neil, believed that Kinnock may have done this voluntarily just to show his strength. Some political analysts had predicted that Corbyn would have had difficulty getting the requisite number of nominations from MPs/MEPs to stand, if this had been a requirement for his name to appear on the ballot. The results of an Ipsos MORI survey released on 14 July 2016 indicated that 66% of those surveyed (representative of 18+ adults in Great Britain) believed that the Labour party needed a new leader before the 2020 elections. In addition, only 23 percent believed that Corbyn would make a good Prime Minister, while the then-incumbent
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...
had an approval rating of 55 percent.


Nominated

As the incumbent,
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
, following an interpretation by the National Executive Committee of disputed Labour Party rules, was automatically included on the ballot. To be placed on the ballot, challengers to the
Leader Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...
had to be nominated by at least 20% of the combined membership of the
Parliamentary Labour Party The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in the British House of Commons. The group comprises the Labour members of parliament as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes ...
(PLP) and European Parliamentary Labour Party, i.e. 51 MPs/MEPs. An MP or MEP who nominates a candidate does not have to subsequently support, or vote for, that candidate. In the past, some MPs have stated that they nominated only to ensure that a candidate (such as Corbyn) got onto the ballot paper; however, it was (correctly) expected that Corbyn would face a single "unity candidate" after Angela Eagle and Owen Smith agreed that the person with fewer nominations from MPs/MEPs should step aside (which Eagle later did). In an interview, Smith offered the following endorsement of the former contender: "Angela is a star in the Labour firmament. She will be at my right hand throughout this contest and if I am successful, Angela will be alongside me as my right hand woman." He explained that his decision to run for leader was partly because the future of the Labour party was at risk, stating that the "possibility of split is dangerously real". A High Court legal challenge, brought by Labour donor and former parliamentary candidate Michael Foster contesting the NEC's interpretation of the rules to allow Corbyn to be a candidate without having to secure nominations from Labour MPs/MEPs, was heard on 26 July 2016. Corbyn applied to the court, and was accepted, to be the second defendant with his own legal team as Corbyn was "particularly affected and particularly interested in the proper construction of the rules" and that General Secretary of the Labour Party
Iain McNicol Iain Mackenzie McNicol, Baron McNicol of West Kilbride (born 17 August 1969) is a British politician, trade unionist and life peer who served as General Secretary of the Labour Party from 2011 to 2018. He was National Political Officer of the ...
was "being expected to vigorously defend a position which he regarded as incorrect prior to the NEC decision". The High Court ruled that there was no basis to challenge the NEC's decision that Corbyn should automatically be on the ballot. Prior to her withdrawal from the race on 19 July 2016, Eagle had been nominated by 72 MPs/MEPs. By that time, Smith had been nominated by 90 MPs/MEPs. Smith received a further 82 nominations following Eagle's withdrawal in advance of the nomination deadline at 17:00 the following day. A total of 89 Labour MPs/MEPs did not nominate any candidate by 19 July; 79 MPs/MEPs did not nominate by the close of nominations.


Withdrew


Declined

*
Hilary Benn Hilary James Wedgwood Benn (born 26 November 1953) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds South, formerly ...
, former
Shadow Foreign Secretary The shadow secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, commonly called the shadow foreign secretary, is a position within the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), UK official opposition shadow cabinet th ...
; MP for Leeds Central (endorsed Angela Eagle, then Owen Smith) *
Yvette Cooper Yvette Cooper (born 20 March 1969) is a British politician who has served as Home Secretary since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, Cooper has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member of parliament (MP) for Po ...
, former
Shadow Home Secretary In British politics, the shadow home secretary (formally known as the shadow secretary of state for the home department) is the person within the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (UK), shadow cabinet who shadows the home secretary; this effecti ...
; candidate for Leader in 2015; MP for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (endorsed Owen Smith) * Dan Jarvis, MP for Barnsley Central (endorsed Angela Eagle, then Owen Smith) *
Stephen Kinnock Stephen Nathan Kinnock (born 1 January 1970) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberafan Maesteg, formerly Aberavon, since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, he has served as Minister of State for Care since 2 ...
, MP for
Aberavon Aberavon () is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a district of Por ...
(endorsed Angela Eagle, then Owen Smith) *
John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. He has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington ...
,
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer The shadow chancellor of the exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer, chancellor of ...
; candidate for Leader in 2007 (failed to be nominated) and
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
(withdrew); MP for Hayes and Harlington (endorsed Jeremy Corbyn) *
Lisa Nandy Lisa Eva Nandy (born 9 August 1979) is a British Labour Party politician serving as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport since 2024. She has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Wigan constituency since 2010. Nandy previ ...
, former Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change; MP for
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
(endorsed Owen Smith) *
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...
, MP for Holborn and St Pancras; former Director of Public Prosecutions (endorsed Owen Smith) *
Chuka Umunna Chuka Harrison Umunna (; born 17 October 1978) is a British businessman and former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham from 2010 until 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he was part of the Shadow Cabine ...
, former Shadow Business Secretary; candidate for Leader in 2015 (withdrew); MP for
Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...
(endorsed Angela Eagle, then Owen Smith) * Tom Watson, incumbent Deputy Leader; MP for West Bromwich East (endorsed Owen Smith)


Endorsements


Debates

The Labour Party initially confirmed that there would be nine official debates between Corbyn and Smith; of which seven actually took place. :1.Jeremy Corbyn refused to attend any debate hosted by ''
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
'', ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' or ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''. :2.A location and media organisation were not established in time.


Opinion polling

The polls in this section have been undertaken by media pollsters known to use industry standard polling methods. The polls below were conducted after nominations for the leadership ballot closed.


Polling of all eligible voters

The polls below show voting intention amongst all those eligible to vote in the leadership election (Labour Party members, registered supporters and affiliated supporters).


Polling of Labour Party councillors

The polls below asked Labour Party local councillors across the country how they planned to vote in the leadership election.


Polling of Labour voters

The polls below asked Labour supporters across the country how they would vote in the leadership election if they were eligible.


Polling of British voters

The polls below asked voters across the country how they would vote in the leadership election if they were eligible.


Polling before close of nominations

The polls below were conducted before nominations for the leadership closed and therefore may include Labour politicians who will not be candidates. Polls show both free choices among all candidates and constrained choices among particular pairs of candidates.


Polling before the EU referendum

The polls below were conducted prior to the referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the EU taking place. In the aftermath of this event,
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
was accused by his opponents of undermining the campaign to remain in the European Union, and faced a string of significant resignations from his Shadow Cabinet.


Result

Turnout was 77.6%.


National breakdowns (Full Members only)

The following section shows how votes from full party members were cast within each nation of the UK. Breakdowns were not made available for registered supporters or affiliated supporters.


UK-wide


England


Scotland


Wales


Northern Ireland


Aftermath

Corbyn went on to lead Labour into the 2017 general election, which saw Labour increase its share of the popular vote by 10 percentage points and win 30 more MPs than in
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
.
Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a British lobbyist and former Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician. Smith was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontypridd (UK Parliament constituency), Pontypridd from 2 ...
rejoined the Shadow Cabinet following the general election, with Corbyn appointing him
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), British Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, secretary of state for ...
in June 2017. On 23 March 2018, Corbyn sacked Smith from the Shadow Cabinet after Smith called for a second referendum on EU membership in ''The Guardian''. Corbyn led Labour into the 2019 general election, which saw Labour's defeat and a leadership election triggered. Smith announced his decision to stand down as an MP before the election, citing "personal and political reasons" in a letter to Corbyn.


See also

* 2016 Conservative Party leadership election * '' Evangelou v McNicol'' – the court case regarding the eligibility of new members to vote *
2016 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election The 2016 Green Party of England and Wales leadership election took place from July to August 2016 to select a leader of the Green Party of England and Wales. The incumbent leader, Natalie Bennett, announced in May 2016 that she was not going to ...
* July–September 2016 UK Independence Party leadership election * October–November 2016 UK Independence Party leadership election


Notes


References


External links

* {{2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum Jeremy Corbyn Labour Party leadership election Labour Party leadership election 2016 elections in the United Kingdom
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
Consequences of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum Labour Party leadership election Labour Party leadership election Labour Party leadership election (UK)