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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Labour leadership: Unison endorses Sir Keir Starmer | Labour leadership: Unison endorses Sir Keir Starmer |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Sir Keir Starmer has won the backing of the UK's largest trade union, Unison, to become the next Labour leader. | Sir Keir Starmer has won the backing of the UK's largest trade union, Unison, to become the next Labour leader. |
| Unison, which has 1.3 million members, said the shadow Brexit secretary was best placed of the candidates to unite the party and regain public trust. | Unison, which has 1.3 million members, said the shadow Brexit secretary was best placed of the candidates to unite the party and regain public trust. |
| Unite, Labour's largest financial backer, will decide later this month who to back in the contest. | Unite, Labour's largest financial backer, will decide later this month who to back in the contest. |
| Sir Keir has also become the first to secure enough nominations from MPs and MEPs to get on the ballot paper. | Sir Keir has also become the first to secure enough nominations from MPs and MEPs to get on the ballot paper. |
| By Wednesday morning, the Holborn and St Pancras MP had secured the backing of 23 colleagues - passing the minimum of 22 required. | By Wednesday morning, the Holborn and St Pancras MP had secured the backing of 23 colleagues - passing the minimum of 22 required. |
| Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long Bailey is his closest competitor, followed by Jess Phillips. Nominations close on 13 January and the winner will be announced on 4 April. | Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long Bailey is his closest competitor, followed by Jess Phillips. Nominations close on 13 January and the winner will be announced on 4 April. |
| 'Clear vision' | |
| Unison's endorsement, which was agreed by a committee of "working people from across the country", is a major boost for Sir Keir's campaign. | |
| Announcing its decision, the union said it believed the former director of public prosecutions was capable of taking Labour back into government. General Secretary Dave Prentis said working people depended on Labour being in power to change their lives. | |
| "We believe - if elected by the membership - Keir Starmer would be a leader to bring the party together and win back the trust of the thousands of voters who deserted Labour last month," he said. | "We believe - if elected by the membership - Keir Starmer would be a leader to bring the party together and win back the trust of the thousands of voters who deserted Labour last month," he said. |
| "Keir has a clear vision to get Labour back to the winning ways of the past. He is best placed to take on Boris Johnson, hold his government to account and ensure Labour can return to power." | "Keir has a clear vision to get Labour back to the winning ways of the past. He is best placed to take on Boris Johnson, hold his government to account and ensure Labour can return to power." |
| The union, which represents workers across the NHS, schools and other public services, backed Jeremy Corbyn in 2015 and 2016. | The union, which represents workers across the NHS, schools and other public services, backed Jeremy Corbyn in 2015 and 2016. |
| The BBC's political correspondent Iain Watson said Sir Keir was the overwhelming choice of the union's Link Committee, having won more support than all of the other candidates combined. | |
| Sir Keir told the BBC he was "delighted" by the endorsement but played down talk of him now being the frontrunner, telling the BBC "there was a long way to go" in the contest. | |
| "What I want to do is lead a united Labour Party that works with trade unions to bring them together to face the future," he said. | |
| It caps a good day for the shadow Brexit secretary, whose parliamentary backers include two newly-announced members of Labour's front bench - shadow culture secretary Tracy Brabin and shadow Brexit minister Thangam Debbonaire. | It caps a good day for the shadow Brexit secretary, whose parliamentary backers include two newly-announced members of Labour's front bench - shadow culture secretary Tracy Brabin and shadow Brexit minister Thangam Debbonaire. |
| Mrs Long Bailey's backers include deputy leadership candidate Angela Rayner, while Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips has the support of, among others, Wes Streeting - an outspoken critic of Mr Corbyn over his handling of anti-Semitism allegations in the party. | |
| By Wednesday morning, Wigan MP Lisa Nandy had two nominations and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry has one. However, shadow Treasury minister Clive Lewis was yet to receive the official backing of any of his colleagues. | By Wednesday morning, Wigan MP Lisa Nandy had two nominations and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry has one. However, shadow Treasury minister Clive Lewis was yet to receive the official backing of any of his colleagues. |
| Earlier, Mr Lewis rated Mr Corbyn "six out of 10" as leader of the Labour Party. | Earlier, Mr Lewis rated Mr Corbyn "six out of 10" as leader of the Labour Party. |
| Speaking to the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme, he criticised the outgoing leader for making mistakes on Brexit and dealing with anti-Semitism. | Speaking to the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme, he criticised the outgoing leader for making mistakes on Brexit and dealing with anti-Semitism. |
| "But some things he got right," Mr Lewis added, "so in many ways he's renewed our party." The comments follow those of Mrs Long Bailey, who rated Mr Corbyn 10 out of 10 for his performance as leader, despite Labour's electoral defeat. | |
| Mr Corbyn said on Tuesday he would not endorse any of the candidates and "won't be saying who I'll be voting for". | Mr Corbyn said on Tuesday he would not endorse any of the candidates and "won't be saying who I'll be voting for". |
| Deputy leadership race | Deputy leadership race |
| In the race to become Labour's next deputy leader, shadow education secretary Ms Rayner is leading the way in terms of nominations and has also won Unison's backing. | |
| Before entering Parliament, Ms Rayner was a local Unison representative while employed as a care worker in Greater Manchester. | |
| Ian Murray, Scotland's only remaining Labour MP, is second in the list of declared backers so far while shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon is third. | |
| As of Wednesday morning, shadow women and equalities minister Dawn Butler had three nominations while Tooting MP Rosena Allin-Khan had two. The remaining candidate, Birmingham Perry Barr MP Khalid Mahmood, was yet to receive any. | |
| The six deputy contenders also held a hustings in Parliament on Wednesday. | |
| Mr Murray told MPs he was running "because of my track record in beating the odds", saying: "I shouldn't be here. People like me from the housing estate where I was born and brought up in a single parent family don't become MPs. But I am. | Mr Murray told MPs he was running "because of my track record in beating the odds", saying: "I shouldn't be here. People like me from the housing estate where I was born and brought up in a single parent family don't become MPs. But I am. |
| "And I shouldn't be here because I wasn't supposed to win my marginal seat. But I did, by building a coalition of support." | "And I shouldn't be here because I wasn't supposed to win my marginal seat. But I did, by building a coalition of support." |