Emily Thornberry has announced she is withdrawing from the Labour deputy leadership contest, leaving four candidates left in the race to replace Angela Rayner.Announcing her decision on social media, Thornberry said she was “deeply grateful” to Labour members for their support and added that it had been “a privilege to take part in this race with such brilliant women”. Thornberry, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee, had gathered 13 nominations from Labour MPs, far short of the 80 needed to progress to the next stage of the contest. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is the frontrunner so far, having secured backing from 116 of her parliamentary colleagues. Lucy Powell – who was sacked as Commons leader last week – is her closest rival with 77 nominations.Clapham and Brixton Hill MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy has 15 nominations and fellow left-winger Paula Barker, who represents the Liverpool Wavertree constituency, is on 14.The candidates have until 17:00 on Thursday to get 80 nominations, otherwise they will have to drop out of the race. Housing Minister Alison McGovern withdrew from the race on Wednesday and backed Phillipson after failing to pick up enough support.
Source link
Emily Thornberry pulls out of deputy Labour leader race
