Although they will tell you otherwise not everyone enters a leadership contest in order to win it.
Liam Fox used to throw his hat in the ring every time the Conservative job was up for grabs and you presume he had just enough self awareness to realise he would never emerge as the victor.
Fox was wily enough to grasp that leadership races, if played adroitly, can be used to raise your profile and usually guarantee you a senior frontbench post.
This tactic can, of course, backfire.
A poor campaign can damage your reputation rather than enhance it, a risk Emily Thornberry is running at the moment .
By contrast, Lisa Nandy’s decision to enter the Labour race has raised her profile and increased her standing.
(Image: Christopher Furlong)
Although she is unlikely to win, though her chances should not be completely written off, she deserves to be rewarded with a senior shadow Cabinet role and has positioned herself as a serious contender the next time there is a vacancy for the top job.
How far Nandy progresses could depend on whether she wins the backing of the GMB union today.
The endorsement of the third biggest union would allow her to muscle in on what is in danger of becoming a two-horse race between Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long-Bailey.
Starmer cemented his place in the next round after picking up Usdaw’s support yesterday.
It would be a surprise if Unite were not to back Long-Bailey.
Without any endorsements from the unions or affiliates you fear that Thornberry and Jess Phillips are going to struggle to pick up the support of the 33 Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) needed to progress to the next stage .
The sad truth is that Labour’s problems will take years to resolve whoever wins the leadership.
The battle for control of the party is real and unrelenting.
(Image: Getty Images)
If Long-Bailey, the preferred candidate of the left, is victorious she will face a backlash from those who want to steer the party back towards the centre ground.
If Starmer or Nandy win they will spend more time than they would wish trying to loosen the grip of the Corbyn faithful from the reins of the party machine.
A new leader will find themselves inheriting a National Executive Committee where the Corbynites and their Momentum allies have a majority.
This may not change when the two CLP posts on the committee come up for election next month.
In many CLPs the executive positions are now in the hands of the left.
It was noticeable that Warley CLP has nominated Long-Bailey for the leadership even though their MP, John Spellar, has long been the scourge of the left.
The battle lines can also be seen in the West Midlands where Unite has thrown its weight behind Salma Yaqoob to be the candidate for West Midlands Mayoralty against Liam Byrne.
Though the contest also points to divisions among the left, with John McDonnell breaking ranks with his colleagues to back Byrne.
Keir Starmer last night said the Usdaw endorsement showed his campaign was building “unity across the Labour movement.”
He may find this is wishful thinking.
Today’s agenda:
9am – Boris Johnson chairs Cabinet.
11.30am – Andrea Leadsom takes Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy questions in the Commons.
2.30pm – Westminster Hall debate on the importance of the music industry.
3.30pm (approx) – General debate in the Commons on the Grenfell Tower inquiry report.
What I am reading:
Simon Taylor in Prospect on Brexit and fishing (it’s more interesting than it sounds)
