Is this a 100% denial that Mandy won’t stand?
Why doesn’t he mention the change of law that’s going through?
This is the video clip of Mandy denying that he has plans to stand for the Labour leadership using a form of words, incidentally, that were deployed by Michael Heseltine repeatedly ahead of the ousting of Mrs. Thatcher in November 1990.
His reason – that he is a life peer and “In this country if you are made a life peer it’s for life. It’s like a life sentence”.
What he doesn’t go into is that Jack Straw announced in July that new legislation was being brought in to allow life peers to relinquish their positions and it was this that set the speculation running.
Alas he was not asked whether he would take steps under the planned new law to quit his life peerage. A firm response to that would have been a lot more convincing.
Ladbrokes have moved Mandy out to 14/1 in the next Labour leader market.