Yvette Cooper moves into favourite slot as Corbyn’s successor
Yvette Cooper now betting favourite to succeed Corbyn pic.twitter.com/H1UNRl2t4R
— Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) April 21, 2017
But being the most capable within LAB not always an advantage especially if you are a woman
At PMQs on Wednesday there was no doubt about the best intervention from the opposition benches. It was from Yvette Cooper the former cabinet minister and contender in the leadership election after Labour’s defeat in 2015.
Her point, questioning the reasons for the election, was strong and Mrs May made heavy weather in her response as she is prone to do. It was this intervention that caused a surge in interest in Cooper’s prospects and now she is the betting favourite.
I rate her highly and do not hide the fact that I am very much an Yvette Cooper fan. Yet in the 2015 leadership race she was beaten into 3rd place by Andy Burnham.
But I’m not tempted to bet on her because one thing we know about Labour it that it will not make rational choices and women can often struggle.
Also we might be wrong to assume that Jeremy Corbyn will do the decent thing sometime on June 9th and announce that he’s quitting the job after Labour’s likely election defeat. He could go on and on because of the lack of an effective mechanism to depose a failing leader.
In any case her odds are not long enough given the many uncertainties ahead. There are also many other things to bet on at the moment.