2035 Labour Party leadership election

The 2035 Labour Party leadership election in Derek was held on 30 March 2035. Prime Minister Olivia Allen had announced her intention to resign before the next election earlier in the month however had planned for a leadership election to be held much further into the future. Leadership tensions in the Labour Party's coalition partner, the Christian Democrats, forced her to call the leadership election early due to fears the CDP would pull out of the coalition and call an early election at any time.

Paul Rees was the only candidate to stand and was therefore elected unopposed without a vote by the party membership.

Background to the contest
Discontent with Olivia Allen's leadership of the party had been growing during the grand coalition government. The coalition with the Christian Democrats had been very unpopular with the left wing of the party which had lead to 19 of the party's 83 MPs defecting to form the Progressive Party in May 2034. The party had seen a large drop in support since the election with a poll at the start of the month showing Labour had dropped to 15% from 28% at the election, with the more left wing parties (Socialists, Greens and Progressives) the main beneficiaries.

To appease members of her own party calling for her resignation, Olivia Allen announced her intention to resign before the next election on 1 March but did not announce a timetable immediately. Despite a public struggle, Allen was forced the call the leadership election sooner than she had planned due to fears the CDP would pull out of the coalition and call an early election at any time.

Outcome
Penelope Woods and Rowan Carr had both announced their intention to contest the election but announced in a joint statement that they would both drop out to allow Paul Rees to be elected unopposed. This decision was made as they both did not see a path to victory and did not want to lengthen the leadership election process, allowing the party to get back on track and win in the event of an early election.

As many in the party feared, the Christian Democrats did not stay in the grand coalition for much longer. The party had its own leadership election a month after Labour's which resulted in the party pulling out of the coalition. No party was able to secure a majority after this and an early election was held in 2035.