Smith is a good guy who remembers his roots

OWEN Smith is the constituency MP for my home town.

It’s been interesting to watch his career since he was elected – and now he’s in touching distance of leading the Labour Party.

All that stands between him are 180,000 (almost certainly) Jeremy Corbyn voters who’ve stumped up £25 to be able to have their say in the contest.

It’ll be a massive task for Smith to win, given the change in Labour’s membership dynamic since the party’s electoral rules were changed, but it’s not quite impossible.

Lots has been written about the Pontypridd MP since he became the PLP’s “unity” candidate to take on Corbyn. I’ve always found him to be a good and decent man and a politician keen to stand up for his constituency – even as a frontbencher he found time to go and support the summer fete at my old primary school.

Such small gestures seem irrelevant in the enormous context of a contest to take charge of the country’s official opposition party.

They do show a keenness in Owen Smith to never forget the roots which helped crystallise his political views, as well as remembering his duty to his constituents – whether they elected him or not.

One of the many tests which Mr Corbyn has not passed during his time at the Labour helm is to remember as leader that he represents not just one leftist element of the party, but all wings – as well as the millions of voters who put their X next to a Labour candidate in 2015, whether party members or not.