Five candidates have made it onto the ballot paper for deputy leader of the Labour party. Tom Watson and Caroline Flint have long had the 35 nominations required to make it into the contest, but until this morning, it was looking to be a two-horse race. But with just under an hour to go until the nominations closed, Rushanara Ali, the MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, withdrew her candidacy to help get others on the ballot paper. In the nick of time, her 24 backers flocked elsewhere to ensure Stella Creasy, Ben Bradshaw and Angela Eagle (who were all struggling to find 35 backers) had enough support.
With a good variety candidates in the running, the deputy leadership contest has the potential to be more interesting than the leadership race. In particular, one movement to watch is the campaign within the PLP to stop Tom Watson.
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