Labour deputy leadership race: Who could run and what’s at stake?

Angela Rayner’s resignation has sparked a battle for the soul of the Labour Party.

The contest to replace her as deputy leader is shaping up to be a battle between the left of the party and Sir Keir Starmer’s Downing Street operation.

The race is being seen as a referendum on Starmer’s leadership.

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Left-wingers, and many on the soft left, want an open contest to replace Rayner, with MPs from across the political spectrum allowed to put forward and debate their ideas.

Downing Street, according to reports, is keen to impose a Starmer loyalist such as new home secretary Shabana Mahmood to the role, with fears that No 10 could seek to stitch up the contest to see off the left.

Fears of a fix were heightened when general secretary Hollie Ridley wrote to members and staff that the contest would be “conducted in a manner that befits the party of government”.

The rules for Labour’s deputy leadership contest will be decided in the coming days by the party’s ruling national executive committee (NEC).

The NEC will set a timeline and a threshold of MP nominations, expected to be around 80, that candidates will need to secure a place on the ballot. Successful nominees then have to be endorsed by at least 5 per cent of local Labour branches or three institutional affiliates, including at least two trade unions.

From there, candidates may have time to face hustings depending on the schedule before members vote for their preferred candidate.

With the rules of the contest to be announced, The Independent looks at who the potential runners and riders are for the role.

Emily Thornberry became the first MP to say publicly she is considering standing in the contest.

The foreign affairs committee chair has been one of the party’s most high-profile backbench voices since the general election, after she was overlooked for a role in Starmer’s cabinet.

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She has been a vocal critic of the PM’s operation, and on Sunday warned Labour is facing “the fight of our lives” against Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

She has won plaudits among Labour members for her brash and sometimes confrontational style and would be a strong contender if she put her hat in the ring.

The former international development secretary quit on a point of principle after Starmer slashed the funding of her department, bolstering her already-strong credentials with the soft left.

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Dodds was also Starmer’s shadow chancellor in opposition before being replaced by Reeves in what was then seen as a pivot to the right.

She has been tipped as a potential contender in the deputy leadership contest, but has not yet said whether she will run.

Shabana Mahmood or another contender from within the cabinet is likely as No 10 seeks to fend off a left-wing challenger candidate.

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Mahmood is firmly on the right of the Labour Party and has been drafted into the Home Office to bolster the government’s efforts to clamp down on small boat crossings.

The election of Mahmood or another Starmer loyalist would avoid the PM having to face a confrontational deputy leader, minimising the potential for tension at the top of the party.

Dawn Butler has been strongly linked with a potential run for London mayor, with Sadiq Khan expected to step down at the end of his current term in 2028.

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But the left-winger has also been named as a potential candidate for the deputy leadership.

The MP for Brent East served as a minister in the last Labour government under Gordon Brown and also in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet.

She wrote on X on Sunday that Labour “must not shy away from a fair process when selecting our next deputy leader”.

“We are a member-led organisation and members must and should have a meaningful say,” she added, raising expectations she will stand. She also stood for the deputy leadership in 2020.

Rosena Allin-Khan ran for the deputy leadership against Rayner last time a contest was held, and sources close to the MP told Politics Home she is considering another tilt.

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The charismatic A&E doctor also enjoys strong support on the soft left of the party, while allies claimed she could bring together all of Labour’s factions as she is not a part of any of them.

Firmly on the left of the party, Richard Burgon has been vocal in urging Starmer to ensure a “fair deputy leadership election… not a stitch-up”.

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In a sign he is considering a run, after unsuccessfully standing in 2020, Burgon has called for suspended MPs, such as Rachael Maskell, to be able to nominate MPs. He has also called for a long timeline to allow a “proper hustings” at Labour’s conference and give local party branches time to decide who to support.

Other names who have been linked with potential bids for the deputy leadership include left-winger Clive Lewis, who has campaigned fervently against inequality and for the public ownership of infrastructure.

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Stella Creasy, the MP for Walthamstow and chair of the Labour Movement for Europe, has also been named as a potential contender.

And Meg Hillier, chair of the influential Treasury select committee, has also been suggested as a potential runner.