Lisa Nandy receives Labour leadership boost after getting backing of GMB union

‘Lisa Nandy is a breath of fresh air in the debate over Labour's future.'

The GMB union has backed Lisa Nandy in the Labour leadership contest, calling her a ‘breath of fresh air.’

The endorsement sees the former shadow cabinet minister take a big step towards making it onto the final ballot paper.

General Secretary Tim Roache said: ‘Lisa Nandy is a breath of fresh air in the debate over Labour’s future.

‘The more members see of Lisa in this contest the more impressed they will be by her ambition, optimism and decisive leadership.

‘GMB is proud to nominate her.

‘Lisa won’t shy away from the tough challenges or bold decisions that lie ahead, because she knows that after fifteen years of losing elections, more of the same won’t cut it.

‘A candidate entrenched in the union movement, Lisa gets the scale of the challenge.

‘She will raise Labour’s game with a bold agenda that puts people first and grounds politics in their lives.’

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer is the frontrunner in the contest, having already secured his place on the final ballot paper as a result of nominations from the unions Unison and Usdaw and the Socialist Environment and Resources Association (Sera), an affiliate group.

Candidates need the nominations of three Labour affiliates, including at least two unions, which amount to at least 5% of affiliate members.

The only other route on to the ballot paper is by receiving nominations from at least 33 constituency Labour parties (CLPs).

Ms Nandy, who already had the support of the National Union of Mineworkers, said: ‘Labour is at a crossroads. To win again we will have to up our game, recover our ambition and inspire a movement.

‘The GMB, the biggest industrial union which speaks for more than half a million workers, has been offering that leadership time and time again in recent years.

‘As I seek permission to lead us back to power as Labour’s next prime minister I could not be more proud to have their support.’

The GMB also backed shadow education secretary Angela Rayner in the deputy leadership contest.

Rebecca Long-Bailey is expected to pick up the support of the major Unite union to be Sir Keir’s main rival.

That leaves Emily Thornberry facing an uphill battle to make it through to the next stage of the contest.

Today, Jess Phillips pulled out of the contest, admitting she would not be able to bring the party together after the December 2019 election defeat.