RESPONSE FROM THE OFFICE OF HARRIET HARMAN

Dear Ms                ,

Many thanks for your recent emails to Harriet Harman about the Labour Party leadership contest. She is also very sorry to hear of the difficulties you and your family have been experiencing.

The leadership contest will be run under the new rules we agreed last year: a broad and open contest with one person, one vote, regardless of whether they are an MP, a Shadow Cabinet member, a trade unionist or a registered supporter – everyone’s vote is equal. As interim leader, Harriet Harman's  role will be to make sure the process is clear and the rules are followed. She will be remaining absolutely neutral throughout the process but she has made it clear that she wants to insert it into the minds of candidates, but above all into the minds of MPs who will choose the field of candidates and of members and supporters who will choose the leader from that field that we must have the public in the forefront of our minds.

Harriet also established the “learning the lessons” taskforce to look at the General Election result and what comes next. The taskforce will be chaired by Margaret Beckett MP and will have two key tasks. The first will be to analyse the data and statistics, and the second will be to listen to candidates who won and lost, the party, but above all the public. You can send in written evidence to the taskforce by emailing lessonstaskforce@labour.org.uk.

Thanks again for taking the time to get in touch with Harriet Harman.

With best wishes,

Mariam Boakye-Dankwa

Correspondence Manager

Office of Rt. Hon. Harriet Harman QC MP (Interim Leader of the Labour Party)

Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham