Now We Are Six

Besides being the title of a Steeleye Span album from years ago, those four words could now also describe the Labour leadership contenders.

The choice the party now has for leader is between four white, middle-class forty-somethings – David Miliband, Ed Miliband, Ed Balls and Andy Burnham (all ministers in Gordon Brown's government), plus the slightly different John McDonnell – and, as from this morning, Diane Abbott, who is female and black, and a backbencher rather than a minister in the Brown government. Burnham's candidacy was also announced formally this morning, but was known about yesterday. Abbott's wasn't.

This is an interesting (and unexpected) development, as Harry Mount at The Telegraph also seems to have realised; and I wonder if Diane has been put up to it by Harriet Harman who has already ruled herself out of the contest. Diane could be Harman's puppet.

This seems quite possible as Ms Abbott has (as far as I can recall) never shown any interest in the party leadership before, and we do hear a lot from her on the This Week sofa most Thursday evenings, quite apart from normal MP media and other exposure. I find the idea fascinating, and certainly more interesting than how I picture a Labour future with any of the other five as party leader.

Okay, Diane is hardly leadership material, if we're being completely honest, so I doubt the voting will go her way sufficiently to upset the plans of those behind the Ed/Miliband trio. Burnham is the only one of the other three with a realistic hope of being elected leader, despite McDonnell's Union connections.

Still, stranger things have happened...

UPDATE at 1600: the closing date for nominations has been extended, to 9 June, to allow more time for those intending to stand to secure the 33 MPs' backing that each requires under the party's rules.