"Ever since it became clear that a Labour leadership race was in the offing, people have been urging me to run. The declared frontrunners are hugely talented, but the danger is that they are "hoovering up" all the nominations and sucking the air out of the contest."
"I came up through the party as an activist. I am [a] former councillor, was an elected member of the national executive, a former trade union official and am the veteran of many grassroots campaigns. So I am better placed to engage with ordinary Labour party supporters than any of my rivals."
