Healey quits Labour deputy leader race

JOHN Healey has pulled out of the race to be deputy leader of the Labour Party — saying he wants to give other hopefuls a better shot.

The Wentworth and Dearne MP said this morning he was quitting the contest.

Mr Healey has the most nominations of those not already on the ballot but said without a shake-up it was inevitable only a narrow range of candidates would be put to Party members.

“Three quarters of Labour MPs have now nominated but only two candidates are on the ballot, and there’s a very real danger that we only have a narrow range of deputy leader candidates,” he said.

“I have the most backing of those not on the ballot so far, and my decision is designed to give more of the other candidates the chance to make the cut. I'm withdrawing now to make sure we get the range and number of candidates that Party members deserve.

“And I encourage those who already have the required 35 nominations to bear this in mind, too.

“I joined the contest for deputy leader to talk about the deeper thinking Labour must now do, and the big challenges we must face.

“I’ll continue to do this as part of Labour's team as we rethink and rebuild to win in 2020.

“I really appreciate the strong support from those MPs who have nominated me.

“We know the mountain Labour must now climb to convince people that we’re ready again to lead the country.”