As the Labour leadership contest narrows, there’s a danger it could become a personality contest

In the first stage of the Labour leadership contest, six would-be runners have been whittled down to five – Sir Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy, Jess Phillips and Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, who secured the necessary 22 nominations from Labour MPs and MEPs at the last minute.

Clive Lewis withdrew just before the deadline, when it was obvious he would not clear the hurdle. It is a pity that Mr Lewis is no longer in the race, as he had posed some of the far-reaching questions the party should address before choosing its next leader. For example, whether Labour should form a progressive alliance with other parties and come out for proportional representation.

There is a danger that Labour puts the cart before the horse, rushing into a personality contest before a thorough inquest into the party’s worst election defeat since 1935. The risk is that candidates reassure Labour members whose votes they need that the party does not need radical change, putting off the much-needed debate and home truths until after they are elected. Such an approach might mean that tomorrow never comes.

The field could narrow further. To secure a place in the ballot among the party’s 500,000 members, the five candidates now need the backing of 33 constituency Labour parties or three groups, including two trade unions, comprising 5 per cent of the affiliated membership.

The candidates will also appear before party members at hustings events. The initial choice of venues suggests that Labour headquarters, like some allies of Jeremy Corbyn, is in denial about the party’s catastrophic defeat. The sessions will be held mainly in areas where Labour is still represented at Westminster – London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow and Durham. To show that Labour is listening and learning, there should surely be events in other parts of the north and midlands where Labour’s “red wall” turned blue.

The nominations suggest Sir Keir is the frontrunner; he won the support of 88 MPs and MEPs, compared to Ms Long-Bailey’s 33; Ms Nandy’s 31 and 23 for both Ms Phillips and Ms Thornberry. But it is still early days. Despite her hesitant start, Ms Long-Bailey will have the backing of a formidable left-wing machine keen to keep its grip on the party.

Nor should the contest be seen as a two-horse race between Sir Keir and Ms Long-Bailey. It is already clear that Ms Nandy and Ms Phillips have plenty to bring to the party. Let us hope they secure enough nominations to go through to the ballot, so Labour members have as wide a choice as possible.

That the contest is not proving a shoo-in for the Corbyn camp’s anointed successor in Ms Long-Bailey is a welcome sign that Labour might acknowledge it needs to change, rather than merely adopt a “one more heave” strategy. As Ms Nandy said in a speech yesterday: “Now is not the time to steady the ship and play it safe.”

The party would be unwise to attribute last month’s defeat to the “Brexit factor” alone, and take comfort from running Theresa May close in 2017. Sir Keir’s opponents will doubtless try to weaken his position by blaming him for Labour’s support for a Final Say referendum. That would be unfair, since the policy was backed by Mr Corbyn, the shadow cabinet, the annual party conference and an overwhelming majority of Labour members.

When party members cast their votes, they should do their duty to the country as well as the party, remembering that the UK needs a strong and effective opposition to hold Boris Johnson’s government to account, and a credible alternative at the next election.