A contest to become the next deputy leader of the Labour Party is under way after Angela Rayner resigned from the role – and from cabinet.
She quit after admitting in an interview with our political editor Beth Rigby for the Electoral Dysfunction podcast that she underpaid the taxes due on a new property near Brighton.
The contest to succeed her is well under way, with MPs from across the party putting themselves forward.
Tap here for the latest on the deputy leadership contest in our Politics Hub
Labour’s governing body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), agreed the process and timetable for the deputy leadership contest three days after Ms Rayner’s resignation.
Below is the process that was decided, which will last until 25 October.
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Angela Rayner resigned after admitting to Beth Rigby that she underpaid tax, triggering the deputy leadership contest.
Stage one – getting nominations from MPs
The first stage in the deputy leadership contest is getting enough support from fellow members of the Labour Parliamentary Party (MPs) to get through to the next stage.
Potential candidates must secure the backing of at least 20 per cent of Labour MPs – which currently equates to 80 – and they will have a chance to make their pitches at a hustings event on Wednesday.
Labour MPs cannot support more than one candidate – they can either nominate themselves or one of their colleagues.
This stage closes at 5pm on Thursday 11 September, and the party will then confirm who has secured enough nominations to proceed.
Watch live on Sky News on Wednesday at 7pm.
Stage two – getting nominations from local parties and unions
The second stage of the contest is getting support from Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs – local Labour parties) and affiliates of the party.
Candidates must secure nominations from at least five per cent of CLPs – or at least three affiliates (at least two of which must be trade union affiliates) comprising five per cent of fully paid-up affiliated party members.
The deadline to secure the necessary support is Saturday 27 September.
The Labour Party’s annual conference begins the next day, where the candidates who have secured the required backing will be able to make their pitches directly to members.
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Sky’s Jon Craig explains what unions want from Labour’s new deputy.
Stage three – party membership vote
From Wednesday 8 October, Labour Party members will be able to cast their ballots for their choice of deputy leader.
The ballot will take place via electronic voting, and those without email addresses will be sent postal ballots. Labour Party members with at least six months continuous membership will be eligible to vote, as well as members of applicable trade unions for at least that same period who have opted in to the political levy (where applicable).
Read more:
Would-be Labour deputies woo the unions in Brighton
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Each eligible member will get one vote, and the party is using the single preferential voting system.
This means that voters rank the candidates in order of preference on the ballot paper. If no candidate receives 50 per cent of the vote once first preferences are counted, then the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their second preference votes are redistributed amongst the remaining candidates. This process continues until one candidate passes the 50 per cent threshold.
The latest data on the membership of the Labour Party was published at the end of 2024, and it showed that it is the largest political party, with 333,235 members.
The ballot will close at 12pm on Thursday 23 October.
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Leaving school aged 16 with no qualifications, Angela Rayner has had a meteoric rise to the second-highest office in the UK.
Announcement of the winner
The winner will be announced two days after the close of the vote, on Saturday 25 October.
The party has not yet said how it intends to announce the result, but it is expected that there will be an event where the declaration will be made.
The winner will immediately become deputy leader of the Labour Party – but they are not expected to be appointed deputy prime minister, with Downing Street having made clear that David Lammy has been given that position. It is also not clear if they will be given a job in government.
Tap here to follow the very latest on the deputy leadership contest.
