Emily Thornberry announced she's running for the Labour leadership and lots of Tories are thrilled

Emily Thornberry has announced that she is standing to be the next leader of the Labour Party.

Thornberry is the first person to formally announce her intention to succeed Jeremy Corbyn, although Rebecca Long-Bailey, Keir Starmer and David Lammy have indicated that they are considering it. Jess Phillips and Yvette Cooper are also thought to be likely contenders.

In an article for the Guardian, she said that she had been critical of Corbyn’s “neutral” Brexit stance, but also his decision to back a general election before Brexit had been dealt with. She also rejected the idea that the next Labour leader must be a northerner, following the collapse of Labour’s “red wall” of northern seats.

Thornberry was in the headlines earlier this week when defeated MP Caroline Flint accused her of suggesting that her north London constituents are smarter than Leave-voting constituents. She has strenuously denied the accusation and said she will pursue legal action if Flint doesn’t retract the claim.

Thornberry is undoubtedly a big character in the Labour party, with her fair share of allies and critics. She was famously involved in a social media scandal in which she was accused of classism and snobbery for tweeting an image of a white van surrounded by England flags.

Naturally, given her polarising status, people have been reacting strongly to the surprise leadership bid.

Her colleague Richard Bugron wasn't exactly enthusiastic...

And others expressed scepticism that Thornberry is the type of leader that Labour needs right now.

In fact, most of the people celebrating seemed to be Tories, which isn't exactly a great sign.

Still, it's so early on in the contest and Thornberry will obviously have something important to contribute to the debate on Labour's future.

Whatever happens with her leadership ambitions, at least we'll always have this GIF.

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