So far, only Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has secured backing from enough MPs to make it past the first round.
Candidates for Labour’s deputy leadership face a final scramble for nominations as they bid to make it to the second round of the contest on Thursday.
So far, only Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has secured backing from enough MPs to make it past the first round, sailing over the line with 116 nominations by 7pm on Wednesday.
Ms Phillipson continued to pick up nominations following a virtual hustings on Wednesday evening, and said she was “honoured to have the backing of such a breadth of colleagues”.
She is likely to be joined by former Commons leader Lucy Powell, who was just three short of the 80 nominations required to advance to the next stage.
But the other three candidates remain much further adrift, meaning the contest is likely to become a two-horse race between Ms Phillipson and Ms Powell.
Left-wing MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy is third on 15 nominations, followed by Liverpool Wavertree’s Paula Barker on 14 and Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Dame Emily Thornberry on 13.
Earlier on Wednesday, sixth candidate Alison McGovern dropped out of the race and offered her backing to Ms Phillipson, saying the “momentum of this contest had shifted”.
Candidates have until 5pm on Thursday to secure 80 nominations from their fellow MPs.
The prospect of a contested election threatens to overshadow Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool at the end of September, with a contest described by some as a referendum on the Prime Minister’s leadership.
But neither Ms Phillipson, a Cabinet minister, nor Ms Powell has so far been openly critical of Sir Keir Starmer, while other candidates have explicitly called for a change of direction.
Despite being sacked by Sir Keir last week, Ms Powell said she had been “proud” to serve in government when announcing her candidacy, while Ms Phillipson said she would “unite the party, take the fight to Reform, and deliver for our country”.
