Leicester Mercury political correspondent
Anatomy of a leadership race
I’m relishing covering the twists and turns of the race to become Labour leader of Leicester City Council. Leadership elections are catnip to political correspondents. I’ve penned a couple of stories in the Mercury on it so far, and there are more to come.
In every political leadership race there are usually two or three front runners, but that doesn’t stop others – with little or no chance of winning – throwing their hat into the ring.
There are four main types of outsider candidates that I reckon you’ll find in every race. It’s these candidates in a leadership race that can tell you so much more about the state of a party than who gets elected as leader. Keep an eye out for their equivalents in the city over the coming weeks.
1 – The Horse Trader
They’ve got no chance of winning but every chance of splitting the vote or disrupting a coronation. They’ll aim for the top so they can cut a deal for a senior position in return for rowing back from their stated leadership ambitions.
2 – The Vanity Candidate
Usually either a has-been or a could-be-one-day. This person will feel that the leadership of the party has wrongly eluded them. They’ll put themselves in the frame with every belief they’ll win it, only to find little or no support among their party’s ranks.
3 – The Principled Politico
Knows they won’t win, but stands on a point of principle anyway. Often covering their move with claims that they want to hold a ‘debate’ about the party’s direction or key policies, they’re largely ignored while the real race continues.
4 – The Vengeance Candidate
Not in it to win it, but not in it to start a debate either. In fact, they’re not in it for any other reason other than to voice their opposition to one of the front runners. Good sense and reason is ignored in favour of the opportunity to have a very public dig at the leader-elect.
Do let me know in the comments if I’ve missed any out.
