Most of Labour’s Birmingham MPs are backing Yvette Cooper in the Labour leadership election, according to data from the New Statesman.
Cooper has managed to gain the support of five local MPs so far:
- Khalid Mahmood (Perry Barr)
- Shabana Mahmood (Ladywood)
- Steve McCabe (Selly Oak)
- Liam Byrne (Hodge Hill)
- and newly elected Jess Phillips (Yardley)
Any candidate needs to be nominated by 35 MPs in order to run for the leadership of the party in September. Potential candidates have until June 15th to secure the nominations from their peers.
Currently only three MPs have secured that number of votes including Yvette Cooper (29 votes), Andy Burnham (28) and Liz Kendall (21).
Gisela Stuart (Birmingham Edgbaston) is the only local MP so far to support Liz Kendall while Andy Burnham has yet to gather the support of any of Birmingham’s Labour MPs.
Yvette Cooper is currently third favourite with Paddy Power to win the election, which takes place in September, with the bookmaker offering an 11/2 odds in her favour.
Birmingham By Numbers 