The Labour Party was decimated at the polls last Thursday as 46 MPs lost their seats to Conservative candidates, resulting in Jeremy Corbyn announcing plans to step down from the helm of the party. Mr Corbyn clarified he will not be leading Labour to the next general election but confirmed he will stay in his role to oversee the selection of his successor. Former Tory MP Ed Vaizey suggested only one member of the Opposition would give the party “a chance” to recover from the losses suffered last week.

Speaking to Jeremy Vine, Mr Vaizey said: “Labour does need to return to the centre-ground so they kind of, halfway, take it out of the Blairite playbook but I would also say there’s cultural politics is at work.

“There is a cultural resonance in who is chosen to be the Labour leader in a way there wasn’t when they chose Blair.

“My preferred choice, being completely altruistic in what I think would give Labour a chance, would be Angela Rayner.”

Ms Rayner is currently the shadow Education Secretary and is seen as a close ally to Jeremy Corbyn but Mr Vaizey suggested she could win over disenchanted voters with a more “centre-ground” position compared to Mr Corbyn’s.

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He continued: “She ticks all of the boxes – she’s a northern MP, she’s very successful, very articulate.

“She is from the left but does understand the need for a centre ground.”

Mr Vaizey added: “I do think if Labour is going to continue with 70s policies, they are going to continue getting 1980s results.”

Since Mr Corbyn announced he will soon be stepping down, Ms Rayner joined a list of other papable candidates to succeed the current Labour leader.

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Shadow Business Secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey and Wigan MP Lisa Nandy have also been named as potential new Labour leaders partly because of their northern backgrounds.

The Labour Party suffered severe losses in the northern heartlands, with historical seats like Bolsover being lost to the Tories at the general election last week.

Ms Nandy confirmed on Sunday she is considering running for the leadership of the party because she felt the “earth-shattering” defeat in her constituency.

Speaking to Andrew Marr, she said: “The honest answer is that I am seriously thinking about it.

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“We need to think seriously now about first of all how you bring those lifelong Labour voters – who felt that they not only couldn’t vote Labour but actually in many instances chose the Tories – how you bring Labour home to them.”

As she announced her interest, the Wigan MP criticised Labour’s chosen manifesto for the 2019 election, claiming some of the promises showed a disconnect with the general public.

Betmakers Ladbrokes have assigned Ms Long-Bailey odds of 7/2 to take the position, just ahead of Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Kier Starmer, who is on odds of 4/1.

Ms Rayner followed her fellow frontbencher with odds at 6/1, while Ms Nandy placed fourth at 6/1.

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