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The2007 Labour Party deputy leadership election was a British political party election for the position ofdeputy leader of theLabour Party.John Prescott, the previous deputy leader, announced on 10 May 2007 that he was standing down from that position and that he would be resigning asdeputy prime minister, about the same time thatTony Blair tendered his resignation asprime minister.[1]
Harriet Harman was elected deputy leader on 24 June 2007 with 50.43% of the finalredistributed vote. However,Gordon Brown, who was elected leader on the same day, did not subsequently appoint her deputy prime minister, instead leaving the office vacant.
There had been reports that an increasing number of Labour MPs and members of theNEC had been attempting to get the election for the position of deputy leader abandoned in order to save the£2,000,000 it was estimated that the contest would cost.[2][3] There would have had to have been a special conference convened if such an alteration was to be made.
All six declared candidates secured more than the 45 nominations fromMPs that was the minimum requirement for them to get onto the ballot paper by close of nominations at 12:30 UTC+1 on 17 May 2007.[14][15]
The election took place usingAlternative Vote in an electoral college, with a third of the votes allocated to MPs andMEPs, a third to individual members of the Labour Party, and a third to individual members of affiliated organisations, mainlytrade unions.
Harriet Harman won the contest, her victory heavily depending on support from individual party members with preference votes narrowing her opponents' lead and she led in the final round only.[16] The final total percentage votes for the two main candidates after redistribution were almost identical to those of the final round of the1981 contest.
| Candidate | Affiliates (33.3%) | Members (33.3%) | MPs/MEPs (33.3%) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Cruddas | 27.3% | 17.0% | 13.9% | 19.4% | |
| Harriet Harman | 13.1% | 24.1% | 19.6% | 18.9% | |
| Alan Johnson | 13.7% | 16.6% | 24.3% | 18.2% | |
| Hilary Benn | 14.8% | 21.7% | 12.8% | 16.4% | |
| Peter Hain | 19.9% | 11.6% | 14.4% | 15.3% | |
Hazel Blears N | 11.3% | 9.0% | 15.0% | 11.8% | |
| Candidate | Affiliates (33.3%) | Members (33.3%) | MPs/MEPs (33.3%) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Johnson | 17.7% | 19.1% | 34.4% | 23.7% | |
| Harriet Harman | 15.5% | 26.4% | 21.9% | 21.2% | |
| Jon Cruddas | 28.9% | 18.0% | 14.2% | 20.4% | |
| Hilary Benn | 16.7% | 23.8% | 14.2% | 18.2% | |
| Peter HainN | 21.3% | 12.7% | 15.3% | 16.4% | |
| Candidate | Affiliates (33.3%) | Members (33.3%) | MPs/MEPs (33.3%) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Johnson | 23.5% | 22.0% | 38.4% | 27.9% | |
| Harriet Harman | 21.4% | 30.5% | 25.9% | 25.9% | |
| Jon Cruddas | 33.1% | 19.8% | 18.9% | 23.9% | |
| Hilary BennN | 22.2% | 27.9% | 17.0% | 22.3% | |
| Candidate | Affiliates (33.3%) | Members (33.3%) | MPs/MEPs (33.3%) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Johnson | 30.8% | 32.1% | 46.2% | 36.4% | |
| Harriet Harman | 28.4% | 41.5% | 30.9% | 33.6% | |
| Jon CruddasN | 40.9% | 26.5% | 23.0% | 30.1% | |
| Candidate | Affiliates (33.3%) | Members (33.3%) | MPs/MEPs (33.3%) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Harriet Harman Y | 48.6% | 56.5% | 46.3% | 50.4% | |
| Alan Johnson | 51.5% | 43.5% | 53.8% | 49.6% | |
Jeremy Corbyn announced in December 2006 he was considering running for the Deputy Leadership. However, there was no subsequent statement from him on it and he nominatedHilary Benn for the Deputy Leadership.[17] No other eligible person – i.e. Labour MP – announced they were considering standing for the position except for the six nominated candidates andJeremy Corbyn. Corbyn would go on to be electedLeader of the Labour Party in the2015 leadership election, appointing Benn his Shadow Foreign Secretary.
There was some speculation aboutEd Balls,Patricia Hewitt,[18]David Miliband[19] andJack Straw standing for the position, but no sign that they had ever said they were inclined to run and all had ruled themselves out before nominations opened.
The number of donations made to each candidate for their campaigns[20] were:
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