Labour leadership: Nandy ‘would serve in opponents’ teams’

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Labour leadership candidate Lisa Nandy has said she would would be “happy” to serve in a shadow cabinet led by either of her rivals.

Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, she said she, Sir Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long-Bailey were “quite good mates behind the scenes”.

Sir Keir, seen as the front-runner, has refused to commit to working in the shadow cabinet if he loses the contest.

Voting opens on 24 February and the winner will be announced on 4 April.

Ms Nandy, MP for Wigan, stood down from Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet in 2016, citing a “lack of confidence” in the party’s leadership.

Asked on Good Morning Britain, whether she would return with either Sir Keir or Ms Long-Bailey as leader, she said: “Of course.

“What you don’t actually realise is we are quite good mates behind the scenes. There’s a camaraderie that comes from being put through this process.

“We’re the only people who understand how tough it is and, yes, I’d be proud to serve in their shadow cabinets.”

At the Labour leadership hustings in Glasgow on Saturday, Sir Keir said he “saluted” Ms Nandy and Ms Long-Bailey, but did not commit to working with them.

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On Good Morning Britain, Ms Nandy said Labour needed to “change or die” after four election defeats, arguing that it should apply “traditional Labour values” to “the world as it is now”.

The party also had to “walk the walk, not just talk the talk” on tackling anti-Semitism, adding that this would be be “my first priority as Labour leader”.

Ms Nandy’s comments come ahead of Thursday evening’s LGBT+ hustings, taking place in Manchester.

The candidates have been divided over a pledge card drawn up by the Labour Campaign for Trans Rights.

It asks leadership candidates to commit to expelling party members who are “transphobic”.

Ms Nandy and Ms Long-Bailey have signed the 12-point pledge, but Sir Keir has not. However, during BBC Newsnight’s leadership debate, he said transgender people’s rights were “human rights”.