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The 3020 Labour Party Leadership Election was triggered by the resignation of Leader Mark Edwin after the party's landslide defeat in the October 3020 general election. Edwin had served as Leader since Wiltshirian independence. Jake Simpson was elected Leader and became Leader of the Opposition.
The election was conducted among Labour Party members of the Wiltshire National Assembly. The first candidate to announce was Jake Simpson, the former Foreign Minister under Prime Minister Rita Smith. Followed by Francesca Piers (Edwin's Home Minister) and Matthew Warner (Edwin's Housing Minister). Simpson has quickly arisen as the frontrunner with endorsements from six of the 14 Labour Assembly members.
Candidates
Jake Simspon
Jake Simspon has been a member of the Wiltshire National Assembly since January 3016, being first elected as apart of Frank Eddington's landslide. During his time in the Assembly, Simpson has served in a number of Assembly and Ministerial roles, including Foreign Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer under the first Labour Government.
Simpson opposed the election of Mark Edwin in December 3018 as Labour Leader, and has constantly been a political critic of the Labour Leader, especially when he became Prime Minister in June 3020.
Simpson has announced his candidacy on the basis of "New Labour", a platform that would see the party become more moderate and nationalistic. In addition, Simpson has been described as "tough on crime" and willing to tackle the challenges of the country "in a way other Labour Leaders have not been". Simpson has said that he believes he can win a majority at the next election and form a fourth Labour government.
Francesca Piers
Francesca Piers was first elected to the Wiltshire National Assembly in February 3020 as apart of the Labour intake. She immediately assumed the role of Labour's Communities spokesperson. When Labour entered government following the February 3020 election. Piers was appointed Communities Minister, later being promoted to Home Minister following Edwin's cabinet reshuffle.
She is widely considered to be the continuity-Edwin candidate, and has been one of Edwin's biggest supporters. Piers had announced that she would not seek the leadership if the Deputy Leader (and Mark Edwin's natural successor) Alberto Siliotti had decided to run. As Siliotti did not seek the leadership, Piers announced her candidacy.
Piers is running on a platform of "worker's rights" and "core Labour values". While she has been very vague about her specific agenda, she had said that she would seek to make the party more representative of the country and that a female leader would help to address the gender-imbalance in Wiltshirian politics. Piers, much like Simpson, says she can win the next election. However, people have criticized her for making light of Labour's steep hill to climb in order to re-enter government.
Matthew Warner
Perhaps the least well known candidate in the race, Matthew Warner served as Mark Edwin's Housing Minister following the cabinet reshuffle. Warner was only elected to the Assembly in June 3020 and so is considered to have the least amount of experience of all the candidates. However, Warner has said that this is "of little consequence" and that the party should embrace the next generation of leaders.
Warner has yet to be endorsed by any members of the Wiltshire Assembly. His platform, much like Piers, is sparse on details. However, he has said that his agenda would seek to "empower" the next generation and bring about political reform through "grassroots activism".
Warner also suggested that Labour would be "wasting resources" in trying to win the next election outright, instead calling for a "left of center" coalition to be built of multiple different parties.
Results
Jake Simpson was elected Leader of the Labour Party.
| Candidate | Electorate | Nominations | % | Popular vote | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Simpson | Upper Chute | 6 | 42.9% | 12,326 | 59.1% |
| Francesca Piers | Boulevard North East | 4 | 28.6% | 8,531 | 40.9% |
| Matthew Warner | Newton South and the River | 3 | 21.4% | Eliminated | |
| Total | 13 | 92.9% | 20,857 | 100% | |