Voting begins as brothers vie for Labour leadership

VOTING for a new leader of the Labour party is set to begin today, with brothers David and Ed Miliband seen as front runners in an election overshadowed by the party’s controversial previous leaders Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

The three-month long battle for the leadership was triggered when Brown quit after May’s general election at which Labour lost power for the first time in 13 years, making way for the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition headed by David Cameron.

Ballot papers are being sent out today to around 160,000 Labour party members, who have a third of the votes, plus Labour members of the British and European parliaments who have another third, and trade unionists who get the final chunk.