If indeed nearly half of all LAB members live in London that doesn’t bode well for Andy Burnham
What an amazing stat – 48% of Labour Party members are from London. No wonder this party doesn't understand Britain.
— Patrick O'Flynn (@oflynnsocial) September 23, 2014
He could be struggling where it matters most
Last September UKIP was making great play of the London dominance of LAB by asserting that 48% of the party’s members lived there. Whether that’s accurate or not or whether it still holds good is hard to day but there’s little doubt that the red team is particularly strong in the capital.
That means that when the votes in the leadership election are counted in the second week of September the views of the London membership look set to play a key role particularly if the pattern is different from the rest of the country.
-
All of which makes the failure of the Andy Burnham campaign to pick up more than a couple of London LAB MPs is worrying for the shadow health secretary. This is where the most leadership election voters are.
The electors in this election are not MPs but ordinary members and those down as registered supporters. The latter includes trade union members who pay the political level AND who have registered with the party.
The current distribution of MP support is not a firm guide to how those entitled to vote will actually cast their ballots but local MPs can be highly influential with their membership. The fact that the betting favourite, Andy Burnham, is struggling with London MPs could be a pointer.