Salford MP and Labour leadership candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey insists no one is “pulling the strings in the background” and describes herself as a “completely different” character to Jeremy Corbyn.
In an interview in this morning’s Daily Mirror she tells the paper, “I’ll be taking the party in completely different directions,” she says.
Denying that she’s too shy for Labour’s top job: “I’m not shy, I was too busy working. I was locked in a room for four years developing a lot of the policies that were in the manifesto, rather than going around wining and dining.
If she wins she would bring all her remaining leadership rivals – Keir Starmer, Lisa Nandy and Emily Thornberry – to the top table if she wins.
“Yes I suspect so. I’ve said I’d have a broad church.”
She will have has a more emollient approach to the US President than Jeremy Corbyn did:
“I’d meet any leader, including Donald Trump, whether I agree with them or not. You shouldn’t cut off dialogue. It’s also about fostering relationships that provide peace and stability.”
In her private life she describes herself as a “lapsed” Catholic who goes to church only at Christmas and Easter. “I’m hedging my bets”.
She still prays but thinks God should be kept out of politics. “Your faith can help form your views but it should be very separate.”
