Dame Emily Thornberry has pulled out of the race to become Labour’s next deputy leader after failing to secure enough support from fellow MPs.
The senior Labour MP and chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee announced her withdrawal on Thursday, saying it had been a privilege to take part in the contest but that she had decided to withdraw.
As of Wednesday evening, Dame Emily had secured backing from just 13 MPs, far short of the 80 nominations required to progress to the next round. By contrast, frontrunner and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has 114 supporters, followed by Lucy Powell, the former Commons leader, and backbencher Bell Ribeiro-Addy.
In a statement on X, Dame Emily said: “I’m deeply grateful to all the Labour members who have shared their support. But I have decided to withdraw. It has been a privilege to take part in this race with such brilliant women. I will always be committed to this party and do everything I can to make it successful.”
Thornberry was the first MP to declare her candidacy following Angela Rayner’s resignation last week after a tax controversy.
However, her campaign struggled to gain momentum, with several figures within Labour indicating they wanted a candidate from outside London.
Her withdrawal comes as Paula Barker, MP for Liverpool Wavertree, also dropped out of the contest, endorsing Lucy Powell.
Barker said the next deputy leader must “listen to every section of our party and not be afraid to bring challenges to the Government.”
Candidates have until the end of Thursday to reach the 20% MP threshold before the contest moves to the next stage, which involves securing support from constituency Labour parties or affiliated organization’s.
