Rebecca Long-Bailey has not yet declared her intention to contest the Labour leadership, but she is already running into problems. Over the weekend she has been accused of lying over her working class
upbringing, faced calls of
insurrection from former party bigwig Roy Hattersley and has reportedly made a self-confirmed
Stalinist her campaign manager. Despite being more or less confirmed as the Momentum-backed candidate, the news coverage has clearly affected the bookies and Keir Starmer has roared back into the top spot at 2/1 (Ladbrokes, Coral) or 7/4 (William Hill, Paddy Power).
Curiously, odds have not only shortened on Starmer, they're drifting on most of his potential competitors. Yvette Cooper and Dave Lammy are the exceptions. Cooper has overtaken Jess Phillips at several bookmakers, while Lammy's
suggestion that he could enter the fray has seen his odds shorten, albeit they are still very long.
Latest odds (Ladbrokes)
Keir Starmer 2/1
Rebecca Long-Bailey 9/4
Lisa Nandy 4/1
Yvette Cooper 10/1
Jess Phillips 12/1
Clive Lewis 20/1
Emily Thornberry 25/1
Dan Jarvis 50/1
David Lammy 66/1
