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Labour leadership contest: Who are the final three candidates and who is favourite to win?

Voting in the Labour leadership contest closed today, with three candidates battling it out to replace Jeremy Corbyn as party leader.

Labour party members, registered and affiliated supporters began voting on Monday, February 24 and had until 12pm on Thursday, April 2 to cast their ballot.

A new deputy leader will also be elected following Tom Watson's resignation, with results for both to be announced at the weekend electronically after a planned conference was cancelled over the coronavirus outbreak.

Sir Keir Starmer is still the frontrunner in the leadership race, having picked up endorsements from key trade unions such as Unison and more than half of all constituency parties.

Wigan MP Lisa Nandy, who had originally been seen as a long-shot in the race, received the support of the GMB and the Jewish Labour Movement.

Ms Long-Bailey, meanwhile, has been endorsed by Unite and a number of senior party figures, many of which are pushing for a woman to be the next Labour leader.

Now with the ballot set to close, the Standard takes a look at the remaining hopefuls and what they have to offer.

Who are the candidates in the Labour leadership contest?

Three Labour MPs are in the leadership contest:

Sir Keir Starmer

The shadow Brexit secretary is the current front-runner for the Labour leadership, having entered the race on January 4 with calls to "rebuild" the party "fast".

The MP for Holborn and St Pancras said Labour had lost the public’s trust over a lack of clarity on Brexit, anti-Semitism, and a “feeling that the manifesto was overloaded”.

Keir Starmer is running in the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn (PA)
Keir Starmer is running in the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn (PA)

However, he told Andrew Marr that “we shouldn’t retreat from the radical” as he outlined his vision for the future.​

Sir Keir is the only man in the running, after his colleague Clive Owen dropped out early on.

Some senior Labour figures are hoping a woman to take up the role, with party chairman Ian Lavery urging Sir Keir to "stand down" in favour of his closest competition Ms Long-Bailey.

Despite this, Sir Keir is backed by two trade unions and has recently received the backing of prominent backbencher and former contender Jess Phillips, who said Sir Keir is her second favourite to win behind Lisa Nandy.

Rebecca Long-Bailey

Corbyn-ally and left-winger Rebecca Long-Bailey, who is the current administration's favoured candidate, announced she would be running for the top job on January 7.

The shadow business secretary, a key ally of Mr Corbyn, said the party needs a “proud socialist leader" driven by their principles and "unwavering determination".

Corbyn-ally and left-winger Rebecca Long-Bailey (Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Corbyn-ally and left-winger Rebecca Long-Bailey (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Ms Long-Bailey has assured voters that she would take the party "in a completely different direction".

She is backed by Labour's left, campaign group Momentum, trade union Unite the Union and senior Labour figures including Ian Lavery and John McDonnell.

Recently she announced her backing for an open selection process in the way Labour selects its parliamentary candidates.

Lisa Nandy

Ms Nandy was a long-shot in the race but has made it to the final three (Tim Anderson/Channel 4)
Ms Nandy was a long-shot in the race but has made it to the final three (Tim Anderson/Channel 4)

Wigan MP Lisa Nandy announced her candidacy in a letter to the Wigan Post on January 3. In it, she claimed to have "a deeper understanding of what has gone awry in our discredited political system" having represented her constituents since 2010.

She cited a lack of trust as the key factor in Labour’s defeat, blaming Mr Corbyn for failing to acknowledge the power of the Prime Minister’s Brexit message.

Through to the final round of the leadership contest, she has been described as the "dark horse" of the competition.

She has voiced her concerns about New Labour's "Thatcherite consensus", accusing Tony Blair's government of continuing the late Tory Prime Minister's policies.

How did they get this far?

Firstly, they won the backing of at least 22 MPs or MEPs apiece to make it into the second round. Then they had two routes to pursue.

They could either win nominations from 5 per cent of Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs).

Or they had to get the support of three affiliated socialist organisations, including two unions. These groups had to be large enough to represent at least 5 per cent of affiliated members.

The party membership, which stood at more than 580,000 after the general election, each get a single and equal vote, as do do supporters who have paid a fee to take part.

They have until 12pm on April 2 to make their voices heard.

How does the voting work and when will winners be announced?

The system used is a preferential vote, so if no candidate wins more than 50 per cent in the first round, then the candidate in last place is eliminated and their votes redistributed until the threshold is reached.

The winners will be announced on mid-morning on Saturday, April 4.

What are the key dates?

April 4

Results are announced and the new Labour leader is declared.

A special conference was scheduled for April 4. However, due to the outbreak of coronavirus that announcement was scrapped and instead it it believed the results will be sent via email, with a press release sent out later in the day.

The leader and deputy leader will assume their roles immediately, leaving Mr Corbyn to return to the backbenches unless the winner wants him in their shadow cabinet.

Who has pulled out?

Jess Phillips

Jess Phillips no longer in the running (PA)
Jess Phillips no longer in the running (PA)

Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips was one of the first of the five candidates to announce her bid. The backbencher would have represented a clean break from Corbyn-era politics.

But she pulled out of the race in January, saying she could not "unite the party".

Clive Lewis has claimed Brexit was used to
Clive Lewis has claimed Brexit was used to

A few weeks earlier, Clive Lewis also pulled out of the race after failing to get the support of MPs.

Others

Emily Thornberry made it through to the first stage of the contest by a whisker, receiving 23 backers in total – just one more than the required 22 – with just minutes to spare before the deadline.

Emily Thornberry has thrown her hat in the ring (AFP via Getty Images)
Emily Thornberry has thrown her hat in the ring (AFP via Getty Images)

But the shadow foreign secretary narrowly fell short of getting the support of 33 local Labour branches for the final stage and is now out of the running .

Other MPs were touted for the top job, including shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner, former leadership candidate Yvette Cooper and party chairman Ian Lavery, but all ruled themselves out.

Who is currently favourite to win?

Sir Keir is the clear favourite to win the leadership race, according to the bookmakers who have given the shadow Brexit secretary huge odds of 1/41cto win with Oddschecker.

Ms Long-Bailey meanwhile has been listed at 33/1 and Ms Nandy has been priced 66/1 to win the Labour leadership race.

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