Emily Thornberry has announced she is withdrawing from the Labour deputy leadership contest, leaving four candidates left in the race to replace Angela Rayner.
Announcing her decision on social media, Thornberry said she was “deeply grateful” to Labour members for their support and added that it had been “a privilege to take part in this race with such brilliant women”.
Thornberry, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee, had gathered 13 nominations from Labour MPs, far short of the 80 needed to progress to the next stage of the contest.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is the frontrunner so far, having secured backing from 116 of her parliamentary colleagues.
Lucy Powell – who was sacked as Commons leader last week – is her closest rival with 77 nominations.
Clapham and Brixton Hill MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy has 15 nominations and fellow left-winger Paula Barker, who represents the Liverpool Wavertree constituency, is on 14.
The candidates have until 17:00 on Thursday to get 80 nominations, otherwise they will have to drop out of the race.
Housing Minister Alison McGovern withdrew from the race on Wednesday and backed Phillipson after failing to pick up enough support.
In order to make it to the final ballot, deputy hopefuls will then have to win the backing of 5% of local parties or three Labour affiliated groups, such as a trade union.
Voting opens on 8 October and closes on 23 October, with the winner being announced two days later.
Candidates will have the chance to make their pitch to Labour members at hustings during the party’s conference, which takes place at the end of September.
The contest is an unwelcome distraction from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, as it has the potential to become a vehicle for unhappy MPs and party members to express their discontent with the leadership.
Phillipson’s position as the only cabinet member in the race has helped her secure nominations from those MPs who are loyal to the government.
However, it may harm her in the eyes of party members, who may prefer a candidate who can be independent of the leadership.
Whatever the result, the deputy leader will not become deputy prime minister, as Sir Keir has already appointed David Lammy to the role.
