Thread by @lewis_goodall

Packed house in Liverpool for the first Labour Party leadership hustings...

Boris Johnson mentioned- some boos from the crowd

Question- why are you the person to beat Boris Johnson? @EmilyThornberry: “in the end he’s a liar, he’s callous, he has a woman problem- he certainly has a problem with me.“

.@lisanandy: “I know because I was elected in 2010 that the minute the next Lab is elected the TV cameras will look the other way. The luxuries of a hung parl are no longer there. In 2010-15 we couldn’t get a hearing.”

.@jessphillips: “Johnson has a majority of 80. We’ve got to start speaking to people’s hearts. That’s what Boris Johnson does. We’ve got to be really careful when we think we can have an intellectual argument. This is the fight of our lives. BJ would be terrified to face me.”

All been pretty nicey nice so far until Phillips makes pretty clear broadside to Starmer about “intellectual arguments” being useless with maj of 80. Some murmurings from audience “it’s all about her.”

.@lisanandy putting in another assured performance, trading in on another: “I’m not afraid of Andrew Neil.”

.@Keir_Starmer not afraid to play to the local crowd: “I certainly won’t be giving any interviews to @TheSun during the course of this campaign.”

.@EmilyThornberry: “Frankly being leader of the Labour Party is frankly the worst in the world. The establishment come to us because they find us scary.”

She’s really going for it. Nothing to lose.

Whether the left wins or loses this contest, its impact on Labour culture has been profound. The tenor of the answers, virtually every starting point and many of the points of analysis would have seemed alien in 2010 or for any of the other candidates save JC in 2015.

Jess Phillips again the only one really seeking to joust with the other candidates: “We’ve got to start talking in a lanaguage that people understand. No one sits around talking about federalism or this senate or that senate” seconds after RLB was talking about why it’s vital.

.@lisanandy pledges to move Labour HQ outside of central London.

With CCHQ, civil service and big bits of the BBC off might be a good time to bag some cheap office space...

Thornberry says doesn’t matter whether the next leader is from London- “the best prime minister we ever had was Clem Attlee. Where was he from? Limehouse.”

Well, Putney actually...

Phillips again absolutely going for RLB, this time over anti-Semitism: “I don’t remember some of the people here being in the room or fighting those particular fights.”

Thornberry is absolutely going for it. Answer on anti-Semitism saying must be able to criticise the actions of Netanyahu and Israel but saying “that is not the fault of the Jews.” Crowd loving it.

Thornberry knows she has to go big or go home. She is going big. This race which is already so locked and a wildcard will emerge. I wonder.

Thornberry: “I don’t think there was anything I disagreed with in the manifesto but there was too much of it.” Refuses to name anything she dislikes but gives strong speech about social care.

All of the others seem a bit dour and sad. She’s full of energy. Remind you of anyone?

Question- what keeps you awake at night?
Nandy-her son being 17 (as she was) before first Lab govt
Starmer- the frustration of opposition.
RLB- climate crisis
Phillips- a constituent who needs Lab, in a refuge who voted for Johnson
Thornberry- her mum getting old w/o Lab govt

God I already feel like I know all their gags. These people are going to want to kill each other by April

Verdict? All quite tame. Very different vibe to 15/16. Less energy/vitriol all round. Know some of the non RLB campaigns were concerned partly because it’s Liverpool (Corbynite stronghold in the party)that there would be lots of boos/anger. Early days but still urge to unite.

That desire to unite must benefit Starmer as de facto unity candidate.

Individually

Starmer- workmanlike, has Corbynite moments of pleasing the crowd when he needed to but largely tried to stay above fray. No gaffes which is main objective as front runner.

RLB- not as good as last night. Though she has radical ideas she often sounds technocratic.

RLB (cont)- doesn’t have sense of Corbyn’s energy or insurgency which is partly out of her control as they’re not the insurgents anymore. Hard to calibrate.

Thornberry- had to go big or go home so she went big. Unlike the others she DID have energy, the rest seemed glum. In 2015 it wasn’t just what Corbyn said but how he said it, that he stood out against the tired sounding rest. Race needs a wildcard. Did herself no harm.

Phillips- as ever funny but don’t think she got the tone right. In quest to speak truth she sometimes tells Labour too many. Ergo sometimes seems she doesn’t like Labour much. That’s a problem in a Lab leadership contest. It’s the Liz Kendall approach and is dangerous.

Nandy- solid performance, engages with the questions properly, still can’t help but feel she needs Starmer to implode to stand a chance.

But overall, as I was saying earlier:

https://twitter.com/lewis_goodall/status/1218505614210600960?s=21

https://twitter.com/lewis_goodall/status/1218505614210600960