His mum was a nurse. And Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, born in guilford, and as a child was so poor that when her dad left the family, her cats had to be put down. Shes the only one who doesnt yet have enough support to get to the final round of the contest. Weve got an audience of labour supporters and voters, weve got 90 minutes. What do you need to hear that will convince you . Let me know. Also, borisjohnson is reshuffling his top team , theres one casualty already, julian smith, the Northern Ireland secretary, has been been sacked. Well bring you news on that throughout the programme. Welcome to the programme, live until 11 with a studio full of labour supporters in the four mps who want to lead them. Applause good morning. Who do you want to be the next leader of the labour party and potentially your next Prime Minister . After four election defeats for the party, its going to be a very big job. You know we absolutely welcome your views on this programme you are a huge part of it so do join the conversation today wherever you are across the uk. Were going to ask all four candidates how they are going to try and win back the trust of voters, especially in those parts of the country which have traditionally voted labour but didnt at the last election. Well ask them what their Top Priorities are, how their upbringing has informed their politicis and if theyve ever had a holiday paid for by a wealthy businessman or woman. Here in the studio alongside the candidates, the voters they need to convince a0 people here from all over the country, just over half are labour members or strong supporters, the rest have voted labour in the past but didnt vote labour at the last election. In fact one of two havent voted for the party for years. First of all, the candidates are going to give us their pitch for the top job in 60 seconds. Weve drawn lots to see which order they go in, emily will kick us off. Good morning. 50 we emily will kick us off. Good morning. So we took a hell of a beating at the last election and we are 80 seats behind. What does labour do now . It will be a long, ha rd labour do now . It will be a long, hard slog to get back into power but i think that we can do it and we can do it with energy and we can apply ourselves and take our fight to the tories with a leadership, the leader in me that will take the fight to borisjohnson, as in me that will take the fight to Boris Johnson, as i in me that will take the fight to borisjohnson, as i did and have done for the last two years when he was foreign secretary, i was the one who shouted at him ive done Prime Ministers questions and i have the experience and passion to do this. In the end, you know, what we need to say to the public is this, that britain can be better than this and doesnt have to be this way. We can ta ke doesnt have to be this way. We can take our country into a different direction but people need to believe in us and that we are credible because if they dont, they will not vote for us and they will not give us vote for us and they will not give us their trust, because we could do so us their trust, because we could do so much more. Rebecca longbailey. Good morning. Like all labour members and supporters i was devastated at the election result because i knew what another four years of a conservative government would do to communities like mine in sa lfo rd. Would do to communities like mine in salford. After ten years of austerity, stagnating wages, cuts to Public Services, our communities we re Public Services, our communities were desperate for change but they need a leader to show them that that change is possible. We need to tell a story about how a Labour Government will realise peoples aspirations, whatever their postcode and income and we need to press ahead with a green Industrial Revolution, the biggest Economic Opportunity for National Renewal in a generation and we need to show those who have lost faith in politics that will end of the gentleman is a club in westminster and shift power to their communities. We need a plan and i have got that plan. Its about aspiration and its about the labour party saying that we are the party of quality of life. With every passing generation, our childrens lives will always be better than our owii lives will always be better than our own and that hope doesnt currently exist in our communities and i would bring that back. Sur keir starmer. When labour wins elections we do amazing things. We created the nhs and my wifes mother has been in intensive care for 17 days which is a reminderfor us intensive care for 17 days which is a reminder for us about the quality of the nhs. We introduced equal pay and sure start for children make such a difference to lives. Thats what we do in power and we just lost four elections. We have a choice now, havent we . We can mope around and take lumps out of each other, what was the reason for it . If we do that, we will lose, or we can pull together and say the next stage of the journey is for us and we can ta ke the journey is for us and we can take us on the journey now back into power which is why you want to lead the labour party, to pull it together, unite and bring the passion and dedication. I want of all our members and supporters to feel that actually, i want to be pa rt feel that actually, i want to be part of that and be part of history. I want to look back in five years time and say, actually, i made a real difference to my party, my movement and my country. Lisa nandy, hello. I will be honest, the contest is hard, notjust because of the scale of the defeat or gravity of crisis we face but because every morning before i go out and fight for a better world i have to balance the obligations i have two my young family with the support of parents who are growing old at different ends of the country. And in that i am 110 ends of the country. And in that i am no different to any single one of you. And that is what keeps us awake at night, a social care system that lacks humanity and rules, that isnt there for people when they most needed. A child care settlement that makes virtually impossible to be good parents, and hold down a job and make a contribution. That is why lam seeking and make a contribution. That is why i am seeking your permission to lead this party and leave the country and show the courage and ambition to reach out across the political divide and build a consensus that will help us to fix this crisis, these problems that politicians have hidden from for far too long. With your support i know we can do this, and we can build the britain that i have believed in all my life but never yet seen. Thank you all very much. Lets go straight to the audience. Chris evans is a lifelong labour voter from eccles, a audience. Chris evans is a lifelong labour voterfrom eccles, a shop steward at tesco, a union worker. The last general election was a first for you. Tell the candidates why. The reason why you did not go with the people who voted democratically to leave the European Union, and loads feel the same about it. How are you going to change that to make the people understand that you are with them and you will start listening to them instead of doing what you want to do, other than what the people have put you there to do . Chris, what was the first for you at the last general election . You walked into the voting booth and what . I walked into the voting booth, my family, my dad, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, weve all voted labour all of our lives and i walked in and ijust could not put the pen on the paper because you would not go with the people who voted to leave the European Union. I have been labour all of my life and i protect people throughout the north west, and im hearing the same thing, that you dont listen to them. Youve got to get out of your little boxes and talk to them and see what they want, because if you dont, yourejust going see what they want, because if you dont, youre just going to lose again and again and again. Youve got to move on. Willjohnson is a retired mechanic and a former director of an Office Furniture company and almost always voted labour except this time you voted . Conservative. Tell the candidates why. Ive voted labour all of my life, excuse me, i have a sore throat. Except when michael foot was there and Jeremy Corbyn. We had an excellent mp in bassetlaw who did a greatjob and i spoke to him a couple of times. Why did you vote conservative then . I didnt like Jeremy Corbyn and i think thats the biggest reason and i didnt like the nationalisation policies. I couldnt see a future in it, and im not like a lot of the young people here. I remember the 70s and the economic chaos that followed in the 80s and thats because the unions had control of workforces. Are you able to express what you did not like Jeremy Corbyn . I didnt like his sta nce Jeremy Corbyn . I didnt like his stance on terrorism, that while the ira were bombing and killing innocent people in this country he was supporting them. And i have family there who go into a rage when you mention it. One of them was an ex policeman. In bassetlaw there is a group of us, a strong labour area and he got absolutely slaughtered, he went from 7000 majority to 15,000 down. A massive swing. Thats what youve got to overcome. It really is massive. Tony, a plaster originally from the wirral. You loveJeremy Corbyn and you are anxious that these candidates will move away from that and you dont want it to happen. Im truly the opposite in a sense. I would describe myself as a lapsed labour voter and i never voted for gordon brown or ed miliband or tony blair at the end of his time as pm, and i think its really important that we have a party in britain that has a socialist agenda and when Jeremy Corbyn came out there were some things i didnt like, but on the whole, he brought me back to labour andi whole, he brought me back to labour and i voted for him and i would like to see it continue, really, socialist agenda and labour going back to their roots. There is the dilemma writ large. You have to bring those supporters, who are all labour at heart, but on different sides. You have to bring them together. Tell them why you are the person, Emily Thornberry, to do that. I think the first thing is what i hear from that. I think the first thing is what i hearfrom people is a great belief in our country is a form of patriotism and thats notjingoism, its just our country could be better than our country is at the moment and people feel we have lost oui moment and people feel we have lost our way and there is a great concern about the future and how we will do this. Specifically how you bring the sides together. Im saying that is one of the things that unites us, the idea that we have challenges in front of us and it will be hard after leaving the European Union and the economy will be challenged and we need to make sure that we make decisions together and that we are as united as we can, which does mean listening to people up and down the country. I went to bassetlaw a few days ago and listened to people in bassetlaw and was overwhelmed by the distress people felt, that they just felt for a very long time that they had not been listened to and overlooked, and its really important that people believe that their politicians who are there to represent them are properly engaging with them. I might move on if i may, and specifically the question is how you bring the two together . We listen, and thats really important and thanks for raising the point is about brexit. Ive heard them many times. We are saying about what we will do but ill tell you what i have been doing, i voted will do but ill tell you what i have been doing, ivoted remain will do but ill tell you what i have been doing, i voted remain in my constituency was heavily remain andl my constituency was heavily remain and i spent a lot of time in areas that voted leave to have conversations with people. Gritty conversations, tough conversations but the respect of having those conversations was huge and what i did in those was to explain why we we re did in those was to explain why we were fighting Boris Johnson did in those was to explain why we were fighting borisjohnson on did in those was to explain why we were fighting Boris Johnson on the deal, because i think this deal will do future harm to the country and we need to get that across to people while listening to what they have to say. Once you have listened, then what . We need to listen to people, remain and leave is over, and we have left, so for some extent we have left, so for some extent we have to make sure we dont carry this divide on because it has split families and our party and we have left now and we need to move on but what we cant do now is say that brexit is over because there nothing johnson wants more than us to not look at what he is doing. Hes made loads of promises that he will not deliver, so we need to focus on that. There were varied reasons we lost the election, notjust one, and the problem is they try to find one reason and it would have been plain sailing, and it wasnt, as weve seen from the various conversations this morning. Lisa nandy. Everything youve said ive heard for the last decade and i think brexit was the straw that broke the camels back in ex Coalfield Communities like mine, but it has been a long time coming. We have to be clear about our values and be honest with people. We want to make deep, transformative change in the country and we believe in Public Ownership and we should be clear about that. We want Compassionate Society where we are decent and kind to people, especially people facing adversity and that have difficult lives, but we also need to show a level of respect to people, and when we are asked a question and said it was up to you, we should have been respectful of the answer. Im somebody who campaigned for remain and wanted to remain and if im honest, i want to remain now, but i accepted the fact that we lost the argument and when we promised in 2017 we would leave the European Union with a deal, we should have gone and fought for the deal and agreed the deal and got on with it andi agreed the deal and got on with it and i think we have to be honest with people as well. Its notjust about listening. Politics is about leading as well. When i say to my constituents who want to leave the eu with no deal at all, i would never support this, because its bad for your jobs, never support this, because its bad for yourjobs, they listens to me because i was respectful to them. And most of all we have to go out and win the argument. I believe in Public Ownership but i understand and have heard so many people say the things you have said over the last decade. We got to get out there into the country and win the argument with the people. How do you bring people together . argument with the people. How do you bring people together . I am actually from eccles. It is where i live and the anger was palpable in our community and i was knocking on doors and people in salford said, becky, we like you, but we cant vote for you this time because they we re vote for you this time because they were so angry and vote for you this time because they were so angry and they saw us playing parliamentary games and not talking to our communities and we paid the price for that. Many of the leave voters thought we were trying to undermine the referendum result and the remaining voters thought we werent going far enough in having a strong relationship and the compromise didnt work and we cannot regurgitate the arguments of the la st regurgitate the arguments of the last four years. What we have to do now to win back trust is set out a positive vision of what britain looks like outside of the European Union. And we can do that. And to touch on the point the gentleman made about Public Ownership, and i prefer calling it that, that was central to our economic plan but we didnt have a message that showed people that the economic plan was about creating industries of the future, it was about aspiration and making peoples lives better and using energy as an example, we were going to take Energy Networks into Public Ownership not because we idea logically love it, but we wanted to invest in the networks so we could create businesses in the future. You heard the anger, you say you will listen and i wonder if you want to ta ke listen and i wonder if you want to take the opportunity to apologise to your supporters for that thumping general election defeat . Weve all got to take responsibility because we wont move on if we dont. |j dont think you can answer for the other three but if you want to take the opportunity. I was only speaking for myself. Im sorry for the result, of course i am, for our members, for the mps, for the millions of people who desperately needed change at that general election. Emily thornberry . Iwas completely devastated by the result andl completely devastated by the result and i was devastated by the fact that we will have another five years of conservative government, and who knows what they are going to do to us. Knows what they are going to do to us. Would you like to apologise to these people here . Us. Would you like to apologise to these people here . |j us. Would you like to apologise to these people here . I was part of the Leadership Team of the labour party andl Leadership Team of the labour party and i apologise for us for the failure andl and i apologise for us for the failure and i frankly wish we had not called a general election in those circumstances. Rebecca long bailey . Those circumstances. Rebecca longbailey . We had a single issue election which is what it was on the conservatives had three words, get brexit do