Rebecca Long Bailey finally announced last night  that she was standing to be the next Labour leader.

She joins Keir Starmer, Lisa Nandy, Jess Phillips, Clive Lewis and Emily Thornberry in the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn.

Ian Lavery, who had considered running, said he would be backing Ms Long Bailey’s campaign.

Ms Long Bailey used an article in Tribune magazine to set out her pitch as the continuity Corbyn candidate.

In a key line she wrote that she did not just agree with Corbyn’s policies, “I’ve spent the last four years writing them.”

Her candidacy now confirms the leadership contest will be a test of whether the party remains in thrall to the Corbynites or whether the  membership, bruised by a run of four election defeats, is hungry for change .

Ms Long Bailey appears to have concluded that Labour’s failure in December’s election was not the message but messenger. 

What is less clear is if she will be any more successful at selling socialism on the doorstep.

It is also bold to try to keep the Corbyn flame alive when history suggests that movements tend to die with their leaders just as Thatcherism wilted after Thatcher's departure and Blairism vanished after Blair left the stage.

This may be a neat piece of triangulation by Long Bailey who wants to curry support with Corbyn supporters to win the race but will then diverge once she has control of the reins.

Or she could be a true believer.

The shadow Business Secretary is something of an enigma. 

For a while the most interesting thing about her was whether or not she hyphenated her surname. 

She performed competently when asked  to stand in for Corbyn at Prime Minister’s questions  and held her own in one of the election TV debates but we know little of what drives her or what inspired her to enter politics after a career in the law.  

One of the things in her favour is she shares a flat with the likeable Angela Rayner, who is running to be deputy leader. 

There are many Labour MPs who wish it were Rayner who was running for the leadership and Long Bailey for the deputy role.

Boris Johnson will chair Cabinet this morning where the Iran crisis is expected to dominate the agenda.

If the reports are right, the Prime Minister will then hand Defence Secretary Ben Wallace the duty of giving a statement to MPs on the issue later this afternoon.

You could regard this as an example of how Johnson is willing to delegate.

Or you could see it as a Prime Minister who is refusing to lead from the front on a crucial international issue where the lives of British forces are in danger and  the actions of the United States are testing the resilience of the special relationship .

Despite being Foreign Secretary for more than two years we have little insight into the Prime Minister’s views on foreign affairs beyond his support for Brexit.

Does he see Britain as a bridge between the US and the EU? 

Do our interests lie with unconditionally siding with Donald Trump? 

Does he believe in the interventionist actions of previous PMs such as Tony Blair or the splendid isolation of late 19th century Britain?

Johnson’s career has long been associated with the philosophy of  “cakeism” – if the sponge is on offer he will eat it – but there is a fine line between pragmatism and busking it and at the moment he appears closer to the latter.

Today's agenda:

9am – Boris Johnson chairs Cabinet.

2.30pm – Sajid Javid takes Treasury questions.

3.30pm – Defence Secretary Ben Wallace expected to make a statement on Iran.

What I am reading:

John Harris on whether the Tories can maintain their coalition of voters

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