The 2020 Labour Party deputy leadership election was triggered on 6 November 2019 by the resignation of Tom Watson as deputy leader of the Labour Party of the United Kingdom. It was won by

Angela Rayner Angela Rayner (' Bowen; born 28 March 1980) is a British politician serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work since 2021. She has been Sha ...

on the third ballot. It was held alongside the

2020 Labour Party leadership election Labour Party leadership elections were held in the following countries in 2020: * 2020 Labour Party leadership election (Ireland) *2020 Labour Party leadership election (UK) **2020 Labour Party deputy leadership election *2020 Scottish Labour deput ...

. To qualify for the ballot, candidates needed nominations from 10% (22) of the party's

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MPs) and Members of European Parliament (MEPs), followed by support from either 5% (33) of

Constituency Labour Parties __NOTOC__ A constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary constituency. In England and Wales, CLP boundaries coincide with those for UK parliamentary constituen ...

(CLPs), or from at least three affiliated groups, including two

trades union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

s and representing at least 5% of affiliated members. Five candidates, Rosena Allin-Khan,

Richard Burgon Richard Burgon (born 19 September 1980) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds East since 2015. Burgon served as Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor in the Shado ...

Dawn Butler Dawn Petula Butler (born 3 November 1969) is a British Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent Central since 2015. Butler was elected as the MP for Brent South at the 2005 general election. She served in ...

, Ian Murray and

received sufficient nominations from MPs and MEPs to proceed to the second round of nominations. Rayner achieved sufficient support from affiliates to qualify for the final ballot on 20 January, at which point she also had the greatest number of nominations from CLPs. Burgon achieved sufficient support from affiliates on 29 January, while Butler and Murray achieved sufficient support from CLPs on 2 and 7 February, respectively. Allin-Khan became the final candidate to reach the threshold when she received her 33rd CLP nomination on 8 February. The results were announced on 4 April 2020, with Rayner announced as the winner and becoming deputy leader.

Background

Tom Watson resigned as deputy leader of the Labour Party and as an MP in November 2019 ahead of the 2019 general election.

Procedure

The election was conducted under a pure "

one member, one vote In the parliamentary politics of the United Kingdom and Canada, one member, one vote (OMOV) is a method of selecting party leaders, and determining party policy, by a direct vote of the members of a political party. Traditionally, these objectives ...

" (OMOV) system. Candidates were elected by members and registered and affiliated supporters, who all received a maximum of one vote and all votes were weighted equally. For example, members of Labour-affiliated trade unions needed to register as affiliated Labour supporters to vote. To stand, challengers needed to be nominated by at least 10% of the combined membership of the

Parliamentary Labour Party In UK politics, the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in Parliament, i.e. Labour MPs as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes draw a distinction between the Labour P ...

(PLP) and

European Parliamentary Labour Party The European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP) was the parliamentary party of the British Labour Party in the European Parliament. The EPLP was part of the pan-European Group of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), (with MEPs from sister parties such as ...

(EPLP), meaning twenty-two MPs or MEPs at the time. They also needed to be nominated by at least 5% of

(CLPs), or party affiliates that consist of at least 5% of affiliate members including at least two trades unions. Affiliates consist of affiliated trades unions,

socialist societies A socialist society is a membership organisation that is affiliated with the Labour Party in the UK. The best-known and oldest socialist society is the Fabian Society, founded in 1884, some years before the creation of the Labour Party itself ( ...

and the

Co-operative Party The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom, supporting co-operative values and principles. Established in 1917, the Co-operative Party was founded by co-operative societies to campaign politically for the fair ...

. The vote, as in previous elections, will be held under the alternative vote (

instant-runoff Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of ranked preferential voting method. It uses a majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referred to as ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the Un ...

) system.

Campaign

2020 Labour Party deputy leadership election hustings, Bristol

, the shadow equalities secretary, announced on 7 November 2019 that she would stand to be deputy leader. Khalid Mahmood, the shadow Europe minister, announced his candidacy on 17 December 2019. The shadow justice secretary

announced that he would stand on 31 December 2019 with an article in ''Tribune''. Angela Rayner announced her candidacy on 6 January 2020. On 9 January, Mahmood withdrew from the contest, saying it had become clear he was unlikely to win the support of the necessary 22 MPs or MEPs. The five remaining deputy leadership candidates achieved the requisite 22 MP/MEP nominations by the 13 January deadline and proceeded to the next stage of the contest.

Candidates

Nominated by parliamentarians

The following individuals were nominated by the necessary number of Labour parliamentarians and were subject to receiving backing from the required number of constituency parties or affiliated organisations.

Withdrawn

Declined

Jonathan Ashworth Jonathan Michael Graham Ashworth (born 14 October 1978) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions since 2021. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) f ...

Shadow Health Secretary The Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is an office within British politics held by a member of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition. The duty of the office holder is to scrutinise the actions of the government's Secretary of State f ...

, MP for

Leicester South Leicester South is a constituency, recreated in 1974, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2011 by Jonathan Ashworth of the Labour Co-op Party (which denotes he is a member of the Labour Party and Co-operative Part ...

(''endorsed Rayner'') *

Yvette Cooper Yvette Cooper (born 20 March 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department, Shadow Home Secretary since 2021, and previously from 2011 to 2015. She served in Gordon Brown's Brown ministry, Cabinet as ...

, chair of the

Home Affairs Select Committee The Home Affairs Select Committee is a Departmental Committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Remit The Home Affairs Committee is one of the House of Commons Select committees related to government departments: its ...

(''endorsed Rayner'') * Barry Gardiner, Shadow International Trade Secretary (''endorsed Rayner'') *

Louise Haigh Louise Margaret Haigh () (born 22 July 1987) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Transport since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Heeley at the 201 ...

, Shadow Policing Minister (''endorsed Rayner'') *

Ian Lavery Ian Lavery (born 6 January 1963) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wansbeck since 2010. He served as the Chair of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn from 2017 to 2020 and was President ...

, chair of the Labour Party ''(endorsed Burgon)'' *

Conor McGinn Conor Patrick McGinn (born 31 July 1984) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for St Helens North since 2015. He was the Labour Party Deputy National Campaign Coordinator from June 2021 and Shadow Minister without Port ...

, MP for St Helens North ''(endorsed Rayner)'' *

Jess Phillips Jessica Rose Phillips (; born 9 October 1981) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Yardley since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguardi ...

, MP for Birmingham Yardley ('' ran for leader'')

Nominations

Candidates first needed to be nominated by at least 10% (22) of current Labour MPs and MEPs, who comprise the

(PLP) and the

(EPLP). Candidates who passed this threshold then need nominations from at least 5% (33) Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs), or at least three affiliates including at least two trades unions that together represent at least 5% of affiliated members. The table below shows the number of nominations achieved by each candidate. A green background indicates that the candidate has met the nomination requirements. A pink background indicates that the candidate has withdrawn from the contest.

Endorsements

Candidates and potential candidates also received the support of notable people who are not current Labour Party MPs.

Rosena Allin-Khan

Liz McInnes Elizabeth Anne McInnes (born 30 March 1959) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Heywood and Middleton from 2014 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she was a Shadow Minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affa ...

, former MP for Heywood and Middleton *

Melanie Onn Melanie Onn (born 19 June 1979) is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Great Grimsby from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she previously served as Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons from ...

, former MP for

Great Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linc ...

Richard Burgon

Laura Pidcock Laura Pidcock (born 19 August 1987) is a British former Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Durham from 2017 until 2019, when she lost her seat in what was the worst defeat for the Labour Party sin ...

, former MP for

North West Durham North West Durham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 12 December 2019 by Richard Holden of the Conservative Party. Constituency profile The constituency is in the north west of County Durham ...

Mark Serwotka Mark Henryk Serwotka (; born 26 April 1963) is General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), the largest trade union representing British civil servants. He was President of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) for 2019. Earl ...

, leader of the

Public and Commercial Services Union The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) is the sixth largest trade union in the United Kingdom. Most of its members work in UK government departments and other public bodies. History The union was founded in 1998 by the merger of th ...

(PCS) trade union *

Dennis Skinner Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolsover for 49 years, from 1970 to 2019. He is a member of the Labour Party. Known for his left-wing views and acerbic w ...

, former MP for

Bolsover Bolsover is a market town and the administrative centre of the Bolsover (borough), Bolsover District, Derbyshire, England. It is from London, from Sheffield, from Nottingham and from Derby, Derbyshire, Derby. It is the main town in the Bols ...

Ian Murray

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

, former Labour Party leader, and

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...

, former Labour Party leader, and Prime Minister *

Alistair Darling Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (born 28 November 1953) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Prime Minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Member ...

, Labour peer, former

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

and former MP for Edinburgh South West * David Hanson, former MP for Delyn *

Roy Hattersley Roy Sydney George Hattersley, Baron Hattersley, (born 28 December 1932) is a British Labour Party politician, author and journalist from Sheffield. He was MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook for over 32 years from 1964 to 1997, and served as Depu ...

, Labour peer and former Deputy leader of the Labour Party *

Blair McDougall Blair McDougall is a Scottish political adviser in the British Labour Party. He is best known as head strategist to the Better Together campaign during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. Career He was educated at the University of Gl ...

, political activist *

Ruth Smeeth Ruth Lauren Smeeth, Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (''née'' Anderson; born 29 June 1979) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stoke-on-Trent North from 2015 until 2019. Since 2022 she has been ...

, former MP for Stoke-on-Trent North * Elizabeth Smith, Labour peer and wife of John Smith * Anna Turley, former MP for

Redcar Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located east of Middlesbrough. The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdivision had a population of ...

* Phil Wilson, former MP for

Sedgefield Sedgefield is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It had a population of 5,211 as at the 2011 census. It has the only operating racecourse in County Durham. History Roman A Roman 'ladder settlement' was discovered by C ...

Angela Rayner

Paul Sweeney Paul John Sweeney FIES ( gd, Pòl Eòin Mac Suibhne; born 16 January 1989) is a Scottish politician. A member of the Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party, he currently serves as Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region ...

, former MP for

Glasgow North East Glasgow North East is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (at Westminster). It was first contested at the 2005 general election. The current Member of Parliament (MP) is Anne McLaughlin of the ...

Momentum In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. If is an object's mass an ...

Open Labour Open Labour is an activist group in the British Labour Party which acts as a forum for members to discuss ideas, tactics and campaigning. It is in the soft left political tradition, to the right of left-wing groups like Momentum and to the left ...

Opinion polls

Results

The result of the election as well as the corresponding contest for leader of the Labour Party was announced at 10:45 ( BST) on 4 April 2020. The announcement was originally due to take place at a special conference in London, but because of the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

it was cancelled in favour of a "scaled-back event". Because of this, members would only find out the results by means of an email and coverage in the mainstream media.

was elected. Rosena Allin-Khan came second, which was different from the results predicted by opinion polls.

Timeline

Overview

2019

November

* 6 November: Tom Watson resigns as deputy leader of the Labour Party and as MP for

West Bromwich East West Bromwich East is a constituency that is represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Nicola Richards of the Conservative Party, who was first elected at the 2019 United Kingdom general election. Members of Parliament ...

* 7 November:

announces her candidacy

December

* 12 December: Labour loses sixty seats in the

2019 United Kingdom general election The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 12 December 2019. It resulted in the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party receiving a Landslide victory, landslide majority of 80 seats. The Conservatives made a net gain of 4 ...

* 13 December:

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...

announces his resignation as leader of the Labour Party effective the outcome of the 2020 leadership election * 17 December: Khalid Mahmood announces his candidacy * 31 December:

announces his candidacy

2020

January

* 6 January:

announces her candidacy * 7 January: Rosena Allin-Khan and Ian Murray announce their candidacies * 9 January: Mahmood withdraws * 13 January: MP/MEP nominations close, party announces that Allin-Khan, Burgon, Butler, Murray and Rayner all proceed to the next round * 15 January: Nominations from CLPs and affiliates open

February

* 14 February: Nominations from CLPs and affiliates close * 24 February: Labour members receive postal ballots and online voting forms

April

* 2 April: 12:00 – Voting closes * 4 April: Result of the votes announced at 10:45 and new Labour deputy leader announced

Notes

References

{{UK Labour Party 2020 elections in the United Kingdom 2020 deputy Labour Party deputy leadership election

Background

Procedure

Campaign

Candidates

Nominated by parliamentarians

Withdrawn

Declined

Nominations

Endorsements

Rosena Allin-Khan

Richard Burgon

Ian Murray

Angela Rayner

Opinion polls

Results

Timeline

Overview

2019

November

December

2020

January

February

April

See also

Notes

References