4 hours ago
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Kate WhannelPolitical reporter
Emily Thornberry has announced she is withdrawing from the Labour deputy leadership contest, leaving four candidates left in the race to replace Angela Rayner.
Announcing her decision on social media, Thornberry said she was "deeply grateful" to Labour members for their support and added that it had been "a privilege to take part in this race with such brilliant women".
Thornberry, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee, had gathered 13 nominations from Labour MPs, far short of the 80 needed to progress to the next stage of the contest.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is the frontrunner so far, having secured backing from 116 of her parliamentary colleagues.
Lucy Powell - who was sacked as Commons leader last week – is her closest rival with 77 nominations.
Clapham and Brixton Hill MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy has 15 nominations and fellow left-winger Paula Barker, who represents the Liverpool Wavertree constituency, is on 14.
The candidates have until 17:00 on Thursday to get 80 nominations, otherwise they will have to drop out of the race.
Housing Minister Alison McGovern withdrew from the race on Wednesday and backed Phillipson after failing to pick up enough support.
In order to make it to the final ballot, deputy hopefuls will then have to win the backing of 5% of local parties or three Labour affiliated groups, such as a trade union.
Voting opens on 8 October and closes on 23 October, with the winner being announced two days later.
Candidates will have the chance to make their pitch to Labour members at hustings during the party's conference, which takes place at the end of September.
The contest is an unwelcome distraction for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, as it has the potential to become a vehicle for unhappy MPs and party members to express their discontent with the leadership.
Phillipson's position as the only cabinet member in the race has helped her secure nominations from those MPs who are loyal to the government.
However, it could harm her in the eyes of party members, who may prefer a candidate who can be independent of the leadership.
Both Riberio-Addy and Barker have been critical of the government, with both criticising its position on the war in Gaza.
Riberio-Addy has acknowledged she is unlikely to win the contest but wanted to encourage a debate among Labour member about "what's gone wrong" in the party's first year in power.
Many senior Labour figures have said the next leader should be a woman and from outside London to counter what they see as the London-centric and male-dominated party leadership.
Whatever the result, the deputy leader will not become deputy prime minister, as Sir Keir has already appointed David Lammy to the role.
Both positions became vacant after Angela Rayner resigned having admitted that she did not pay enough tax on her £800,000 flat in Hove.
Sir Laurie Magnus, the PM's ethics adviser, found she did get legal advice when buying the property, but failed to seek further expert tax advice as recommended.
Rayner said she took "full responsibility for this error", adding: "It was never my intention to do anything other than pay the right amount."
