After such a disappointing result at the General Election, it is imperative Labour moves forward and begins an ambitious project to regain public trust and return to power. I wrote this article published today laying out my thoughts, in addition to this piece before Christmas.

After much reflection and many conversations, I am proud to have this week nominated Sir Keir Starmer to be Leader if the Labour Party, and Angela Rayner to be Deputy Leader. There is a strong range of candidates for Leader with much to offer the party and the country, but ultimately, I believe that Keir has the drive, talent and experience to unite the Labour Party, hold the government to account, and present an alternative vision which appeals to areas like ours and the whole of Britain. It was great to spend time with Sir Keir yesterday, discussing rebuilding the Labour Party. We need clearer priorities, economic credibility and strong leadership to take us forward.

Angela is a political force of nature: honest, authentic, unifying, straight talking, canny and extremely hard working. Her bid is great news for Tameside and our parliamentary neighbour Andrew Gwynne MP was quick to nominate her too. I was proud to attend Angela’s launch event in Stockport on Monday, and she has my full support with her campaign.

I am hopeful and excited by the potential for Labour to rebuild as a radical but credible and relatable force for good in British politics. If you aren’t yet a Labour member but want your say in our next Leader and Deputy, join now from £3 a year (youth and armed forces rate), before Monday 20th Jan, here. If you don’t want to join the Labour Party, you can register as a supporter between 14th and 16th Jan, but you’d have to pay £25. You can keep up to speed with who is running here, and who has nominated who here. The result will be announced on 4th April and I’m excited for a new chapter in Labour politics to begin.