Jim Pickard

Now, the problem with the results as they've come in overnight is that they don't show a clear trend of Labour losing voters to one party or another.

There was a very interesting study.

Data I saw from More in Common suggesting that basically the vote is scattering to the four winds, which makes it so much harder for the Labour Party to search inside its soul and say, should we be more left wing?

Should we be chasing more blue collar, northern white voters or not?

So they're in a bit of a pickle that they don't really know which direction to go in.

And therefore they ask the question of,

Well, maybe Keir Starmer isn't getting it wrong in policy terms, but we just need someone with more charisma.

And they think, well, Angela Rayner has more charisma, but there are issues with her as well, such as she seems to be very unpopular with a lot of the public.

Do we go back to Ed Miliband?

There are issues with that, i.e.

he's already lost the general election.

Do we go for Wes Streeting, the health secretary?

Well, the Labour membership don't particularly like him.

him, or at least they think he's a little bit too Blairite.

And then the question comes back to Burnham.

He's popular in Manchester.

He has a doe-eyed look that some people seem to like.

But then the one thing I think Jen didn't mention, unless I missed it, is that he has problems of his own, which is how does he get a seat?

Firstly, can he be blocked by the National Executive Committee, again, who blocks him standing in Gorton?

Secondly, can he win a seat?