Momentum officially back Rebecca Long-Bailey to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader

16 January 2020, 19:33 | Updated: 16 January 2020, 19:36

Momentum has announced it will officially endorse Rebecca Long-Bailey to win in the upcoming Labour leadership election.

The campaign group said 70.42% of respondents voted to throw their support behind Ms Long-Bailey in April's upcoming election.

For deputy leader, 52.15% were in favour of supporting Angela Rayner.

A Momentum spokesperson said:  “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.”

Ms Long-Bailey is set to officially launch her campaign tomorrow afternoon in Manchester.

Earlier this morning it was reported that she currently is ahead in the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn.

The struggle for the position is currently being battled out by Sir Keir Starmer, Ms Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy, Jess Phillips and Emily Thornberry.

But they will have to wait to see who will be triumphant until 4 April, when Labour members go to the ballot.

According to the second survey carried out so far gives the Shadow Business Secretary a 42 per cent chance, against Sir Keir who came out with 37 per cent.

Pollsters Survation asked readers of Labour List, a website focused on party news, for their preferences and then weighted the results to reflect the membership.

The poll indicates that the five-candidate contest is wide open, with Ms Long-Bailey, who is backed by senior figures on the left of the party, including shadow chancellor John McDonnell, looking most popular with signed-up members.