Ian Dale

If either of them took over, I think most people expect a more left-wing economic policy.

Ed Miliband, who led the Labour Party for five years between 2010 and 2015, he is seen as the kingmaker and he wants to be Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Well, he will be a much more left-wing Chancellor of the Exchequer than Rachel Rees has been.

I think it all depends on the timing.

Andy Burnham has a real problem now because even if today a Manchester MP or an MP in the North West decided to resign their seat to allow him to then stand, that would be the mother of all by-election campaigns because Reform UK are on the march in the North West and they would do everything they could to beat Andy Burnham and they might well succeed.

But a by-election wouldn't be held until, say, the middle of June.

So by that time, nominations could have closed.

And Andy Burnham's campaign could have been scuppered right from the beginning.

Now, I suspect they will find a way around this, but this is not certain.

I'm not an expert on the Labour Party rulebook, and rules can be bent, and the Labour Party have shown that they've done that in the past.

So who knows?

Wes Streeting's best chance is if there is a very quick leadership contest.

He...

I think a lot of Labour people will hope for some sort of coronation.

That's not going to happen.

West Streeting is seen as a Blairite on the right of the Labour Party, and there'll be a lot of enemies that will try and stop him.

Angela Rayner has a huge problem in that her tax affairs still haven't been sorted out.

So I can't see how she can run until HMRC, His Majesty's Revenue and Customs,

until they have cleared her tax affairs and she's repaid what she owes.

Because if she did run and win without that having done, and then they do come down on her like a ton of bricks, well, then she would have to go as well.