We believe Yvette is the only candidate who can reach out to all corners of the country
Today, council and Labour group leaders from across the country will get the chance to put questions to our four party leadership contenders at the local government hustings in Harrogate.
Ahead of this, as representatives of nations and regions across the UK, we wanted to set out why we believe Yvette Cooper is the only choice to lead Labour into the 2020 General Election.
The scale of our defeat on 7 May left all of us reeling. As councillors, many of us lost respected, talented colleagues as voters turned away from Labour. They felt unable to put their trust in us.
And turning things around, so we can make a real difference to people’s lives once again and return to government in five years’ time, is not going to be an easy task.
Firstly, we need a leader who can reach out to every corner of the country – someone who is as comfortable at a meeting with businesses as they are at the school gate, community centre or in a working men’s club.
As happy reading stories and playing with children at a primary school in Manchester as she is discussing small business growth in Rugby, or holding meetings with people on immigration in Thurrock.
Yvette was born in Scotland, but brought up in Hampshire. She represents a constituency in Yorkshire, her family is from the northern coalfields and her children go to school in London.
She is the candidate that can best reach out and appeal to those communities in every region who did not feel they could support Labour at the last election.
Yvette is also a great friend of Labour in local government and is well aware it is now the first line of defence for the communities we represent. We’ve been impressed and enthused by Yvette’s vision for and commitment to local government and greater powers at a local level.
Thirdly, we need someone with fresh ideas that meet the modern challenges we face. Yvette is the only candidate with plans to create the jobs of the future and harness the strength of the digital revolution for Britain.
She has called for a revolution in childcare, with universal free childcare for young children to give parents more choice about when to go back to work. And she has committed to making tackling child poverty a core mission of the Labour Party in the next decade.
Yvette has the determination and strength to rebuild business and bring opportunities to develop start-ups and new technology enterprises not just to our major cities, but to our towns too.
As well as demonstrating her clear vision for the future, she is not afraid to stand up and shout about our achievements as a Labour Party – and is the clear choice to lead us back to a place where we can continue to build on those and make a difference to the lives of those who need a Labour government.
Signatories:
Muhammed Afzal
Syed Enam Ahammad
Uzma Ahmed
Mohammed Aikhlaq
Azhar Ali
Mohammed Amran
Gurdial Atwal
Gurpal Atwal
George Ayre
Caroline Badley
Ralph Barker Barker
Christopher Baron
Sohail Bashir
Christine Bennett
John Bevan
Judi Billing
Elaine Blezard
Peter Box
Philip Brightmore
Ryan Case
Daniel Chapman
Tristan chatfield
Adam Clarke
Virginia Cleaver
Jon Clempner
John Clough
Jackie Connal
Alex Crawford
Yvonne Crewe
Nosheen Dad
Basharat Dad
Matthew Daniel
Mohammed Darwood
Len Davies
Deborah Davies
Angela Davies
Neil Dawson
Alex Diner
Kevin Duffy
Jayne Dunn
Gwynfor Edwards
Jennifer Evans
Adam Farrell
Richard Ferris
Julian Fulbrook
Emma Garland
Joy Garner
Martin Garner
Arthur Geary
Preet Gill
Barrie Grunewald
Inderjit Gugnani Singh
Danny Hassell
Joanne Hepworth
Cindy Hinds
Helen Hollis
Adam Hug
Mahmood Hussain
Mohammed Idrees
Zafar Iqbal
Ziaul Islam
Yvonne Jardine
Adam Jogee
Chris Kennedy
Mariam Khan
Ansar Ali Khan
James Lewis
Keith Linnecor
Adrian Lowe
Tim Lunnon
Vijay Luthra
Pat McFall
Liz McShane
Kim McGuiness
David Mellen
Jewel Miah
Peter Mitchell
Bernadette Mooney
Lyn Moore
Steve Munby
Lana Orr
John O’Shea
Lian Pate
Matthew Patrick
Mark Pengelly
Barry Phillipson
Jonathan Pryor
Marie Pye
Jennifer Raynor
Leon Reefe
Lorna Reith
Karen Rowling
Paul Sandars
Kath Scott
Rosalind Scott
Shafique Shah
Mark Shurmer
Alice Smart
Emily Spurrell
Graham Stokes
Danielle Stone
Sam Stopp
June Tandy
Sharon Taylor
Aminur Thalukdar
Alun Thomas
Ben Thomas
Phil Tye
Graham Vickery
Christopher Vobe
Neil Walshaw
Alan Wassell
Brian White
Paul Williams
Jill Wright
Charles Wright
Jonas Yonga
Julie Young
Tim Young
John Tanner
20 Responses to “120 Labour councillors: why we’re supporting Yvette Cooper for leader”
stevep
Post-war British society was doing ok thanks to the post-war consensus. Then came Thatcher.
Mass unemployment and thus the reliance on vast numbers of people on benefits, was her creed and her doing. Her Tory government destroyed British manufacturing and industry and encouraged foreign industries to replace them.
So when you talk of carelessness and irresponsibility, all I see is Margaret Thatcher.
stevep
It`s not the leader that matters. It`s the politics.
If Labour had had a firmer, more progressive vision of what a Labour government could do for Britain, Ed Miliband would be prime minister now.
Never mind the SunMail attack hyenas the establishment are going to unleash on the next Leader, they`re slavering at their vile mouths and are going to rip apart anyone to the left of Thatcher anyway.
Labour should concentrate on the Politics of reclaiming Britain for the many, not the few and choose a leader best able to deliver the message.
Never forget, in 1945 British voters rejected the great national hero and war leader, Winston Churchill and his Tories and Ushered in that most unassuming of politicians, Clement Attlee. Who led a great, radical, reforming Labour government dedicated to improving the lot of the vast majority of the people in Britain.
grace issagaro
Yvette Cooper has become too much of the career politician for me. Maybe there was a time when she represented working people and knew what their concerns were but that time has long passed. She voted against an investigation into the Iraq War and for that reason alone I could not support her. The Iraq War was and is, a shameful blot on Labour Party history and the fall out from that dreadful war continues on and on and brings so much suffering and instability to the Middle East. Obviously Cooper could not be closer to Ed Balls and you don’t have to dig very deep to learn just how removed he is from any sort of connection or affiliation with working people. As far as I can see, Cooper’s voting record in Parliament is identical to that of Balls. She may be capable and confident of High Office but I don’t think she is capable of representing the interests of working people. She is part of the New Labour elite and is well schooled in presenting herself, but I am fed up to the teeth with the American style politics (and policies). Corbyn is popular because he does not come across as manufactured or marketed and I believe that it’s sincerity that will get the Labour Party back on track, not something called ‘electability’. We have just lost an election and it is time for the Labour Party to revaluate what it is about and who it represents. It can not be all things to all people and the wealthy and the selfish have got their own party. The one thing that can win the working people back over is someone who is honest, steadfast and sincere in their beliefs and principles. It will take time and be a hard road but that and that alone will break the Tory spell.
DonaldSNelson
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Patrick Nelson
Yes you would like one called Enoch Powell.