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Bridget Phillipson has made it to the next round of Labour’s deputy leadership contest after storming ahead with 116 nomination of the party’s MPs.
The education secretary is followed by former Commons Leader Lucy Powell who has 77 votes – just shy of the 80 required to make it onto the ballot paper.
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The remaining three candidates were further adrift, with left-wing MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy on 15 nominations, Liverpool Wavertree MP Paula Barker on 14 and Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Dame Emily Thornberry on 13.
The tally from the Parliamentary Labour Party came after housing minister Alison McGovern dropped out of the race, conceding she would not get the support required.
The candidates need 80 nominations by 5pm Thursday.
There are still over 100 MPs left to vote, with an online hustings being held tonight to give undecided MPs a chance to ask questions of the contenders.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ms McGovern said it was “clear that the momentum of this contest had shifted and I am not going to progress to the next stage”.
Throwing her weight behind Ms Phillipson she added: “I am pulling out of the race now to allow my supporters to switch their nominations to one of the remaining candidates before the deadline.
“I want to thank everyone who has offered me support and encouragement in this race. I will be nominating my friend and colleague Bridget Phillipson as the candidate best placed to unite our party and take the fight to our opponents.”
The race was triggered by the resignation of former deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner after she admitted underpaying stamp duty on a flat she bought in Hove.
Ms McGovern was last according to a tally released by the PLP last night, when she had just two nominations compared to Ms Phillipson’s 44.
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