Labour Party (UK) deputy leadership election, 2007
Encyclopedia
The 2007 Labour Party
deputy leadership election was a British political party election for the position of deputy leader of the Labour Party. John Prescott
, the previous deputy leader, announced on 10 May 2007 that he was standing down from that position and that he would be leaving as deputy prime minister
about the same time that Tony Blair
tendered his resignation as prime minister
.
Harriet Harman
was elected deputy leader on 24 June 2007 with 50.43% of the final redistributed vote
. However Gordon Brown
, who was elected leader on the same day, did not subsequently appoint her deputy prime minister, instead leaving the office vacant.
There had been reports that an increasing number of Labour MPs and members of the NEC
had been attempting to get the election for the position of deputy leader abandoned in order to save the £
2,000,000 it was estimated that the contest would cost. There would have had to have been a special conference convened if such an alteration was to be made.
All six declared candidates secured more than the 45 nominations from MPs
that was the minimum requirement for them to get onto the ballot paper by close of nominations at 12:30 UTC+1 on 17 May 2007.
, a third to individual members of the Labour Party, and a third to individual members of affiliated organisations, mainly trade unions
. So in the tables below, each of the first three columns adds up to 33.33%.
Harriet Harman won the contest, her victory heavily depending on support from individual party members with preference votes narrowing her opponent's lead and she only led in the final round. The final total percentage votes for the two main candidates after redistribution were almost identical to those of the final round of the 1981 contest
.
announced in December 2006 he was considering running for the Deputy Leadership. However, there was no subsequent statement from him on it and he nominated Hilary Benn for the Deputy Leadership. No other eligible person — i.e. Labour MP — announced they were considering standing for the position except for the six nominated candidates and Jeremy Corbyn.
There was some speculation about Ed Balls
, Patricia Hewitt
, David Miliband
and Jack Straw
standing for the position, but no sign that they had ever said they were inclined to run and all had ruled themselves out before nominations opened.
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
deputy leadership election was a British political party election for the position of deputy leader of the Labour Party. John Prescott
John Prescott
John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...
, the previous deputy leader, announced on 10 May 2007 that he was standing down from that position and that he would be leaving as deputy prime minister
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a senior member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the Prime Minister, who may appoint to other offices...
about the same time that Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
tendered his resignation as prime minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
.
Harriet Harman
Harriet Harman
Harriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997...
was elected deputy leader on 24 June 2007 with 50.43% of the final redistributed vote
Instant-runoff voting
Instant-runoff voting , also known as preferential voting, the alternative vote and ranked choice voting, is a voting system used to elect one winner. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and their ballots are counted as one vote for their first choice candidate. If a candidate secures a...
. However Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, who was elected leader on the same day, did not subsequently appoint her deputy prime minister, instead leaving the office vacant.
There had been reports that an increasing number of Labour MPs and members of the NEC
National Executive Committee
The National Executive Committee or NEC is the chief administrative body of the UK Labour Party. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affiliated trade unions, the Parliamentary Labour Party and European Parliamentary Labour Party, Constituency Labour Parties,...
had been attempting to get the election for the position of deputy leader abandoned in order to save the £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
2,000,000 it was estimated that the contest would cost. There would have had to have been a special conference convened if such an alteration was to be made.
Successfully nominated candidates
- Hilary BennHilary BennHilary James Wedgwood Benn is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Leeds Central since 1999. He served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development from 2003 to 2007 and as the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs...
— 47 nominations. - Hazel BlearsHazel BlearsHazel Anne Blears is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles since 2010 and was previously the MP for Salford since 1997...
— 49 nominations. - Jon CruddasJon CruddasJonathan Cruddas is a British Labour Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for Dagenham and Rainham. He was first elected in 2001 to the seat of Dagenham....
— 49 nominations. - Peter HainPeter HainPeter Gerald Hain is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Neath since 1991, and has served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, firstly as Leader of the House of Commons under Blair and both Secretary of State for...
— 51 nominations. - Harriet HarmanHarriet HarmanHarriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997...
— 65 nominations. - Alan JohnsonAlan JohnsonAlan Arthur Johnson is a British Labour Party politician who served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010. Before that, he filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both the Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. Until 20 January 2011 he was...
— 73 nominations.
All six declared candidates secured more than the 45 nominations from MPs
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
that was the minimum requirement for them to get onto the ballot paper by close of nominations at 12:30 UTC+1 on 17 May 2007.
Results
The election took place using Alternative Vote in an electoral college, with a third of the votes allocated to MPs and MEPsMember of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
, a third to individual members of the Labour Party, and a third to individual members of affiliated organisations, mainly trade unions
Affiliated trade union
In British politics, the term affiliated trade union refers to a trade union that has an affiliation to the British Labour Party.The Party was created by the trade unions and socialist societies in 1900 as the Labour Representation Committee...
. So in the tables below, each of the first three columns adds up to 33.33%.
Harriet Harman won the contest, her victory heavily depending on support from individual party members with preference votes narrowing her opponent's lead and she only led in the final round. The final total percentage votes for the two main candidates after redistribution were almost identical to those of the final round of the 1981 contest
Labour Party (UK) deputy leadership election, 1981
The 1981 Labour Party deputy leadership election took place on 27 September 1981 when Tony Benn unsuccessfully challenged the incumbent deputy leader Denis Healey at the party conference. Healey had been elected as deputy leader in the previous year....
.
| Candidate | Affiliates | Members | MPs/MEPs | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Cruddas Jon Cruddas Jonathan Cruddas is a British Labour Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for Dagenham and Rainham. He was first elected in 2001 to the seat of Dagenham.... |
9.09% | 5.67% | 4.63% | 19.39% | |
| Harriet Harman Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997... |
4.35% | 8.04% | 6.54% | 18.93% | |
| Alan Johnson Alan Johnson Alan Arthur Johnson is a British Labour Party politician who served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010. Before that, he filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both the Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. Until 20 January 2011 he was... |
4.55% | 5.53% | 8.08% | 18.16% | |
| Hilary Benn Hilary Benn Hilary James Wedgwood Benn is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Leeds Central since 1999. He served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development from 2003 to 2007 and as the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs... |
4.93% | 7.21% | 4.27% | 16.40% | |
| Peter Hain Peter Hain Peter Gerald Hain is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Neath since 1991, and has served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, firstly as Leader of the House of Commons under Blair and both Secretary of State for... |
6.64% | 3.87% | 4.81% | 15.32% | |
| Hazel Blears Hazel Blears Hazel Anne Blears is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Salford and Eccles since 2010 and was previously the MP for Salford since 1997... |
3.77% | 3% | 4.99% | 11.77% |
| Candidate | Affiliates | Members | MPs/MEPs | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Johnson Alan Johnson Alan Arthur Johnson is a British Labour Party politician who served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010. Before that, he filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both the Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. Until 20 January 2011 he was... |
5.91% | 6.35% | 11.47% | 23.74% | |
| Harriet Harman Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997... |
5.15% | 8.80% | 7.29% | 21.23% | |
| Jon Cruddas Jon Cruddas Jonathan Cruddas is a British Labour Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for Dagenham and Rainham. He was first elected in 2001 to the seat of Dagenham.... |
9.64% | 6.01% | 4.74% | 20.39% | |
| Hilary Benn Hilary Benn Hilary James Wedgwood Benn is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Leeds Central since 1999. He served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development from 2003 to 2007 and as the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs... |
5.56% | 7.93% | 4.74% | 18.22% | |
| Peter Hain Peter Hain Peter Gerald Hain is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Neath since 1991, and has served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, firstly as Leader of the House of Commons under Blair and both Secretary of State for... |
7.08% | 4.24% | 5.10% | 16.42% |
| Candidate | Affiliates | Members | MPs/MEPs | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Johnson Alan Johnson Alan Arthur Johnson is a British Labour Party politician who served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010. Before that, he filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both the Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. Until 20 January 2011 he was... |
7.81% | 7.31% | 12.78% | 27.90% | |
| Harriet Harman Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997... |
7.12% | 10.15% | 8.61% | 25.88% | |
| Jon Cruddas Jon Cruddas Jonathan Cruddas is a British Labour Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for Dagenham and Rainham. He was first elected in 2001 to the seat of Dagenham.... |
11.01% | 6.58% | 6.30% | 23.89% | |
| Hilary Benn Hilary Benn Hilary James Wedgwood Benn is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Leeds Central since 1999. He served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development from 2003 to 2007 and as the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs... |
7.39% | 9.29% | 5.65% | 22.33% |
| Candidate | Affiliates | Members | MPs/MEPs | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Johnson Alan Johnson Alan Arthur Johnson is a British Labour Party politician who served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010. Before that, he filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both the Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. Until 20 January 2011 he was... |
10.25% | 10.70% | 15.39% | 36.35% | |
| Harriet Harman Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997... |
9.46% | 13.82% | 10.29% | 33.58% | |
| Jon Cruddas Jon Cruddas Jonathan Cruddas is a British Labour Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for Dagenham and Rainham. He was first elected in 2001 to the seat of Dagenham.... |
13.61% | 8.81% | 7.65% | 30.06% |
| Candidate | Affiliates | Members | MPs/MEPs | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harriet Harman Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997... |
16.18% | 18.83% | 15.42% | 50.43% | |
| Alan Johnson Alan Johnson Alan Arthur Johnson is a British Labour Party politician who served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010. Before that, he filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both the Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. Until 20 January 2011 he was... |
17.15% | 14.50% | 17.91% | 49.56% |
Suggested candidates not standing
Jeremy CorbynJeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Islington North since 1983.-Early and personal life:...
announced in December 2006 he was considering running for the Deputy Leadership. However, there was no subsequent statement from him on it and he nominated Hilary Benn for the Deputy Leadership. No other eligible person — i.e. Labour MP — announced they were considering standing for the position except for the six nominated candidates and Jeremy Corbyn.
There was some speculation about Ed Balls
Ed Balls
Edward Michael Balls, known as Ed Balls, is a British Labour politician, who has been a Member of Parliament since 2005, currently for Morley and Outwood, and is the current Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer....
, Patricia Hewitt
Patricia Hewitt
Patricia Hope Hewitt is an Australian-born British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Leicester West from 1997 until 2010. She served in the Cabinet until 2007, most recently as Health Secretary....
, David Miliband
David Miliband
David Wright Miliband is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, and was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2007 to 2010. He is the elder son of the late Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband...
and Jack Straw
Jack Straw
Jack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
standing for the position, but no sign that they had ever said they were inclined to run and all had ruled themselves out before nominations opened.
Candidate spending
The amount of donations made to each candidate for their campaigns were:- Hilary Benn — £4,000
- Hazel Blears — £73,000
- Jon Cruddas — £143,000
- Peter Hain — £180,000-£200,000
- Harriet Harman — £46,000, plus £50,000 of her own loans
- Alan Johnson — £54,000