Labour Party (UK) leadership election, 2015 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Labour Party (UK) leadership election

← 2010 14 August 2015 – 12 September 2015 (2015-09-12)
Turnout	422,871 (76.3%)
Candidate Jeremy Corbyn Andy Burnham Popular vote 251,417 80,462 First preferences 59.5% 19.0%   Candidate Yvette Cooper Liz Kendall Popular vote 71,928 18,857 First preferences 17.0% 4.5%
Leader before election Harriet Harman (acting); previously Ed Miliband Elected Leader Jeremy Corbyn

The 2015 Labour Party leadership election was election to choose the leader of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom. It won by Jeremy Corbyn. The election was held because Ed Miliband resigned on 8 May 2015, after the party's defeat at the 2015 general election. Harriet Harman, the Deputy Leader, became Acting Leader but announced that she would resign after the leadership election.

Candidates

Four candidates were successfully nominated to stand in the election: Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, Jeremy Corbyn and Liz Kendall. The voting process began on Friday 14 August 2015 and closed on Thursday 10 September 2015. The results were announced on Saturday 12 September 2015. Voting was by Labour Party members and registered supporters. They voted using the alternative vote system.

Results

When Corbyn entered the election, he was considered unlikely to win. However, support for him increased quickly. Opinion polls showed him leading against the other candidates. This led to warnings from people such as Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, Jack Straw, David Miliband, and Alastair Campbell. Many of them claimed that Corbyn's election as leader would leave the party unable to win elections. Corbyn won the election in the first round, with 59.5% of the votes.