British Indian Member of Parliament Lisa Nandy formally launched her bid to replace Jeremy Corbyn as the leader of the Labour party, urging members to "change course" to avoid becoming "irrelevant" in the wake of the party's worst defeat in over 70 years.
The 40-year-old MP said she wanted to "bring Labour home" to voters that have abandoned the party in its traditional strongholds in articles published in British newspapers.
Nandy, born in Manchester to a British mother and Indian father, became the fourth Labour hopeful to throw her hat in the ring after Clive Lewis, Jess Phillips and Emily Thornberry. The Member of Parliament for Wigan said she believed the party had to change to regain the trust of voters after the huge loss. Nandy, who served as the shadow Energy Secretary from 2015 to 2016, said she was "heartbroken" to see so many working class constituencies had chosen the Conservatives over Labour in the last general election.
"It has been 14 years since Labour last won power and I want you to know I have listened and I understand that we have one chance to win back the trust of people of Wigan, Workington and Wrexham. I wanted to tell you first that I'm standing to be leader of the Labour Party because after a decade of having the privilege to represent you, I have a deeper understanding of what has gone awry in our discredited political system," she said.
Corbyn announced he would be standing down as leader following the party's crushing election defeat.
