Emily Thornberry eliminated from Labour leadership race
Emily Thornberry is out of the Labour leadership race having failed to secure the required number of nominations.
The shadow foreign secretary had until midnight on Friday to get the necessary 33 nominations from local constituency parties, but fell two short.
The other route would have been to receive nominations from Labour Party affiliates, but she received none.
The three contenders in the running to succeed Jeremy Corbyn are Sir Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy.
They all qualified with the support of unions and affiliate groups.
Thornberry said it was a “shame to miss out on the rest of the race, but good luck to the three superb remaining candidates”.
She added that she and her campaign team “gave it everything”.
“I’ll have a week of rest now, then it’s back to the day job of holding this wretched Tory government to account on its foreign policy, and doing so with the same passion, tenacity and forensic skill I’ve shown for four years in that role,” she said.
Thornberry struggled for support throughout the labour leadership contest.
She only received 23 nominations during the first round of votes after Clive Lewis dropped out. One more than the 22 required.
Thornberry said she had suffered from a “squeeze” by the “monolithic” campaigns of Starmer and Long-Bailey.
Candidates needed to secure support from three unions or affiliates representing five per cent of the membership, or 33 constituency Labour parties.
Labour members will vote for the remaining candidates from 24 February. Voting will close on 2 April with the result announced two days later.