The four Labour leadership candidates have taken part in a hustings on BBC Radio 5 Live. Take a close look at the picture. We probably do not use pictures enough in political journalism, because sometimes they can be remarkably revealing. This one sums up the encounter and answers the key question of who won very well.
Andy Burnham
Doesn’t he look glum? Misery and disappointment in headphones. In fact, he didn’t really do badly at all, but his answer to the question about Nato and serving in a Jeremy Corbyn shadow cabinet has probably exposed him to further charges of flip-flopping. Actually, he was making an astute point about how political parties determine policy and how leaders cannot always get their own way. Even Tony Blair, with a majority of 179 and sky-high ratings, was constrained over what he could get past his party, as he discovered over the euro and proportional representation. But nuance does not always make for effective communication, and Burnham is unlikely to get credit for reminding Corbyn that he will not be able to change Labour policy overnight. Burnham is also being criticised for what he said about Labour having a female leader. It seemed obvious he was trying to respond to a tricky question with a joke, but the Sun (predictably) and the New Statesman (less predictably) have had a go at him over it.
Liz Kendall
She just seems to exude studied indifference. Kendall is set to come last and seems resigned to that. Her performance was fine, but she sounded like someone who is starting to go through the motions.
Yvette Cooper
In this picture she is engaged, and that was true of the whole 90-minute show. Unlike Burnham, Cooper confronted Corbyn robustly (at least, quite robustly – not this robustly), criticising him strongly over his plans for people’s QE (quantitative easing) and willingness to share platforms with extremists.
Jeremy Corbyn
Have you ever seen as politician at a hustings looking so calm and laid-back? Not just metaphorically laid-back, but literally laid-back. The criticism he faced did not seem to trouble him at all, and it was striking just how determined he was not to deviate from the anti-austerity radicalism that has set him apart in this race. At times this sounded refreshing (on immigration, for example). At other times, it sounded woefully naive (Corbyn seems to think that campaigning on poverty is the best way to win over Tory-leaning supporters in middle England). But this approach has worked very well for him so far, so it is not surprising that he is sticking to the script. Study the picture again, and you will see a shallow, happy and deserved smile.
