Jess Phillips quits Labour leadership race
Labour MP Jess Phillips has dropped out of the race to replace Jeremy Corbyn as party leader, saying his successor must “unite” the party.
The forthright MP had secured enough nominations to take her into the second stage of the contest, but was thought unlikely to win sufficient backing from unions or local party constituencies to see her through to the final round.
Phillips’ decision to drop out has given frontrunner Keir Starmer a further boost, wirh YouGov putting the shadow Brexit secretary on a 20-point lead above nearest rival Rebecca Long-Bailey. Lisa Nandy and Emily Thornberry trail.
Phillips is the second candidate to quit the race after Clive Lewis failed to win enough support to progress into the second round.
In a video message to supporters the Birmingham Yardley MP said: “The Labour Party will need to select a candidate that can unite all parts of our movement – the union movement, the members and elected representatives. I have to be honest that at this time, that person isn’t me.”
She added:
I truly believe that unless we talk to the country on their terms, not just on ours, that we won’t be able to make the gains we need to win an election – and [to] do what everyone in the Labour movement wants to do, and that is make people’s lives better.…
In order to win the country, we are going to have to find a candidate in this race who can do that and take that message out to the country of hope and change for things to be better.
Watch: Jess Phillips’ video to supporters
A long-time critic of Corbyn, Phillips was one of the first to throw her hat in the ring, indicating her intention to do so as the results of the election came in.
However critics have pointed to her lack of experience and Phillips herself said she was not performing as she had hoped, in a recent article for the Guardian.
More to follow.