Eddie Izzard loses out in Labour Party executive election

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Trans comedian Eddie Izzard lost out in his bid for a spot on the executive of the Labour Party.

The gender non-conforming comic, marathon runner and political activist has been a long-standing member of Labour, and repeatedly hinted at running for office himself.

He had thrown his hat into the ring earlier this year for a spot on the party’s National Executive Committee – the executive governing body of the Labour Party.

But the comic narrowly lost out, coming eighth with just six seats up for grabs.

Izzard received just 70,993 votes – while the sixth-placed candidate garnered 81,863.

All six of the candidates elected were supporters of Jeremy Corbyn, in a shift to the left that signifies larger changes within the party.

Launching his bid earlier this year, Izzard wrote: “I’m my own person, not standing as part of any slate. I’m a radical moderate. I do radical things with a moderate message.

“My priority is to take the fight to the Tories on behalf of all of the people who desperately need a Labour government.

“I have been a member of the Labour Party for 20 years. I have campaigned in over 100 seats, from the top to the bottom of the country and tiny towns and big cities in between.”

Though in the past Izzard has described himself mainly as a transvestite, in recent years he has more broadly described himself as trans.

He explained earlier this year during a marathon challenge: “I am a transgender guy who came out 31 years ago.

“I identify somewhat boyish and somewhat girlish. I identify as both, but I fancy women.

“I’ve got boy genetics and girl genetics. We get obsessed by it in humanity.

“If you look at a tiger, you go ‘ooh, tiger!’, we don’t go ‘girl tiger’ or ‘boy tiger’. We are obsessed by the genders because we grow up in one gender or another. No other animal is obsessed by our gender – they don’t give a monkeys about our gender.

“No matter what sex or sexuality, how you self-identity, or who you fancy, matters not one whit – what do you do in life? What do you make? What do you add to the human existence? That’s what’s matters.”

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