Labour’s National Executive Committee has confirmed that nominations for the next deputy leader will open on Saturday and close at the end of the month, with a hustings to be held at the party’s annual conference.
A number of possible candidates have already said they will not be running including Shabana Mahmood, Lisa Nandy and Jess Phillips with sources saying that Alison McGovern is reportedly No 10’s “preferred candidate”
However support is said to be also coalescing around Manchester MP Lucy Powell sacked as leader of the Commond by Sir Keir Starmer on Friday and said to be Andy Burnham’s preferred candidate
The former shadow Chancellor John McDonnal said that with no time for party members to meet to discuss who their MP should nominate it was pretty clear that leadership wants to bounce their own candidate through
Richard Burgon MP has also accused the party leadership of ‘mother of all stitch-ups’ over the timetable
Candidates must be backed by 80 MPs to be in with a chance of succeeding Angela Rayner
