Indian-origin MP to bid for Labour leadership

Nandy wants to ‘bring party home’

January 04, 2020 10:29 pm | Updated 10:29 pm IST

Indian -origin British MP Lisa Nandy has formally launched her bid to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader, urging the party members to “change course” to avoid becoming “irrelevant” in the wake of the party’s worst defeat in over 70 years in the last month’s general election.

In articles written in The Guardian and the Wigan Post , the Ms. Nandy, 40, said she wanted to “bring Labour home” to voters that have abandoned the party in its traditional strongholds.

Ms. Nandy has become the fourth Labour hopeful to throw her hat in the ring after Clive Lewis, Jess Phillips and Emily Thornberry.

Ms. Nandy, who served as the Shadow Energy Secretary from 2015 to 2016, said she was “heartbroken” to see so many working class constituencies had chosen the Conservatives over Labour at the last general election. In a stark warning to party members, Ms. Nandy, who has championed the needs of Britain’s towns, said “unless we change course, we will become irrelevant”. Ms. Nandy argued that the next leader should come from those areas which feel neglected, with a deep understanding of the problems.

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