Labour MP Clive Lewis throws hat into the ring to replace Jeremy Corbyn

19 December 2019, 23:12

Clive Lewis has announced he will be the second MP to throw their hat into the ring to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader.

Writing in the Guardian, the shadow Treasury minister said he wanted to "unleash" the Labour movement to win its first general election since 2005.

His announcement comes a day after shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry's declared she would also be running.

Mr Lewis said he wanted to have the opportunity to "win back" the trust of the electorate in Labour's traditional heartlands, where large swathes of voters deserted the party in favour of Boris Johnson's Conservatives at the election.

He added: "The truth is that while making a clear break with the New Labour era in terms of policy and personnel, the party was never able to communicate this to voters in our heartlands."

"When trying to persuade them of our radicalism and sincerity, we often had the legacy of the 2000s thrown back in our faces.

"Persuading voters that we understand the sources of their long-held resentment and frustration, of their disappointment in how Labour has conducted itself since the 1990s, will be the first step towards winning back their trust."

Mr Lewis previously worked as a journalist before joining the Territorial Army and serving a three-month tour of Afghanistan in 2009.

Rachael Maskell, MP for York Central, has been quick out of the blocks to endorse Mr Lewis for leader.

The contest to succeed Mr Corbyn has yet to officially start but a number of other candidates are expected to declare in the coming weeks.

Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey is said to be considering running, while shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer, Wigan MP Lisa Nandy and arch-Remainer and Tottenham MP David Lammy have all expressed interest.