Keir Starmer, clearly the frontrunner in the Labour leadership contest, has just secured the backing of trade union Unison. This is the first union endorsement in the contest and is a huge boost to a campaign that is already going very well. Unison was among Jeremy Corbyn’s backers in the 2016 contest, and has the potential to deliver more votes than the other affiliated trade unions.
Starmer is also steaming ahead with nominations from MPs and MEPs, with 23 members publicly backing him. Far behind him in second place is Rebecca Long Bailey, with seven nominations currently.
A number of MPs and activists who I have spoken to in recent days have said that they are backing Starmer largely because they think he is the most likely to win the contest and beat Long Bailey, who is the Momentum-backed candidate.
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