Benn confirms he'll stand for deputy leadership

13 April 2012

Hilary Benn has confirmed he will stand for the deputy leadership of the Labour party, the job his father narrowly failed to secure a quarter century ago.

The International Development Secretary told his constituency he would throw his hat in the ring when John Prescott stands down next year. Labour sources marked him as the favourite after it emerged that he has a campaign machine in place and the support of enough MPs to get his name in the contest. In 1981 Tony Benn was defeated by Denis Healey in a bitterly fought election for the deputy job that marked a defeat for the hard left.

His son has established himself as a moderate figure at the heart of the Cabinet who has avoided being drawn into the factonalism of the Blair and Brown camps.

Labour sources said he would benefit from the failure of other candidates to establish themselves as a clear frontrunner in the contest.

So far Harriet Harman and Peter Hain are the only two Cabinet ministers who have declared they are running for the deputy role.

Jack Straw and Alan Johnson have let it be known they are ready to stand, and backbencher Jon Cruddas has built momentum as a dark-horse candidate who enjoys the support of the trade unions and grassroots activists.

In a letter to his constituency, Mr Benn, 52, said: "The Party will continue to need a Deputy Leader who offers honest advice and leadership, ensures that the voice of the members and affiliated unions is heard in government, works with all colleagues and listens to their views, and who carries forward the fight for social justice and peace in the world, knowing that we achieve most when Labour works alongside the people."

Ashok Kumar, Mr Benn's parliamentary aide, said support was "looking good". He added: "I have worked with him for three years and I regard him as a decent and honest man who could unite the party for the next general election. I have great admiration for him."

Mr Benn's campaign is being organised by former Labour chairman Ian McCartney, the trade minister. He also has the backing of former Foreign Office minister John Battle, his deputy at DfID Gareth Thomas, and Tom Levitt.

One Labour source said: "Given that Alan Johnson hasn't stepped up and established himself in the lead, this probably means Hilary is the frontrunner. But he's got a lot of work to do."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in