16 January 2020 | UK NEWS
Momentum have endorsed Rebecca Long-Bailey to be the next Labour leader, with Angela Rayner as her Deputy.
The Socialist Labour campaigning group, which has approximately 40,000 members, officially endorsed the Salford and Eccles MP in a ballot. Turnout in the poll was only 17.55%, but Long-Bailey was endorsed by 70.42% of members who voted. Albeit narrowly, Angela Rayner also received members’ backing for Deputy Labour leader – by 52% to 48%.
The poll only contained two questions on the ballot paper, which asked voters to endorse Long-Bailey and Rayner. None of the other candidates featured on the paper.
Following Long-Bailey’s endorsement, Momentum commented: “Our membership has spoken and overwhelmingly backed Rebecca Long-Bailey to be the next leader of the Labour Party and the next Prime Minister of the UK. We will now be mobilising thousands to persuade Labour members in the coming months.
“Rebecca is at the heart of a new and diverse generation of socialists who recognise that we cannot return to the politics of the past.
“She has spent the last few years pioneering the policies of the future, including a detailed plan for a Green New Deal that can revive communities that have been ignored, bring the country together and lead the world in combating the climate crisis.
“She is an experienced, principled and inspiring candidate and our movement is proud to support her for leadership.”
On this latter point, it is worth noting that Long-Bailey has in fact only been an MP since 2015. She has also been the Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy since 2017.
We will bring you further coverage on the Labour leadership contest as it develops.
