Each year for the last eight years I have convened a panel to compile a list of the Top 100 Most Influential People on the Left.
This year our panel was comprised of a Member of Parliament, a local government leader, a former Labour special advisor, a left of centre journalist, and a left wing historian.
The most difficult thing when deciding who to include and exclude is to define what ‘influence’ actually means.
In the end it means being influential in a combination of national politics, the media, in the Labour Party and upon its leader.
The first half of the list contains no fewer than 28 new entries, and will be published on Sunday morning on Breitbart London.
In all, there are 45 new entries in the whole list, which is twice as many as in any normal year. Numbers 50-1 will be published on Breitbart London on Monday.
Out go the two Eds, Miliband and Balls. Peter Mandelson disappears, as does Alastair Campbell. Russell Brand, Jim Murphy, Douglas Alexander, Alistair Darling, all out.
In comes the editor of the Morning Star, Ben Chacko, the odd Corbyn supporting new MP like Clive Lewis plus a whole host of his new entourage, represented in this half of the list by his new press officer Kevin Slocombe and his deputy chief of staff, Anneliese Midgley.
The Greens are represented by three women – Caroline Lucas, Sian Berry and Natalie Bennett, while the Scottish National Party takes seven places in the whole list.
The panel also did a bit of star spotting by including newly elected MPs Wes Streeting, Sir Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips.
Tomorrow, we’ll reveal who’s on the first half of the list.
Iain Dale is a commentator, author, and presenter on LBC Radio. He is the Managing Director of Biteback Publishing and tweets at @IainDale
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