Labour leadership contest: Who are the final three candidates and who is favourite to win?
Voting in the Labour leadership contest is getting underway after candidates battling to replace Jeremy Corbyn were whittled down to the final three.
Labour party members - registered and affiliated supporters - will begin voting on Monday, February 24 and have up until April 2 to cast their ballot.
Sir Keir Starmer is still the frontrunner, having picked up endorsements from key trade unions such as Unison and more than half of all constituency parties.
Wigan MP Lisa Nandy, who had originally been seen as a long-shot in the race, has received the support of the GMB and the Jewish Labour Movement.
Ms Long-Bailey, meanwhile, has been endorsed by Unite and a number of senior party figures, many of which are pushing for a woman to be the next Labour leader.
Now as the ballot opens, the Standard takes a look at the remaining hopefuls and what they have to offer.
Who are the candidates in the Labour leadership contest?
Three Labour MPs remain in the leadership contest:
Sir Keir Starmer
The shadow Brexit secretary is the current front-runner for the Labour leadership, having entered the race on January 4 with calls to "rebuild" the party "fast".
The MP for Holborn and St Pancras said Labour had lost the public’s trust over a lack of clarity on Brexit, anti-Semitism, and a “feeling that the manifesto was overloaded”.
However, he told Andrew Marr that “we shouldn’t retreat from the radical” as he outlined his vision for the future.
Sir Keir is the only man in the running, after his colleague Clive Owen dropped out early on.
Some senior Labour figures are hoping a woman to take up the role, with party chairman Ian Lavery urging Sir Keir to "stand down" in favour of his closest competition Ms Long-Bailey.
Despite this, Sir Keir is backed by two trade unions and has recently received the backing of prominent backbencher and former contender Jess Phillips, who said Sir Keir is her second favourite to win behind Lisa Nandy.
Rebecca Long-Bailey
Corbyn-ally and left-winger Rebecca Long-Bailey, who is the current administration's favoured candidate, announced she would be running for the top job on January 7.
The shadow business secretary, a key ally of Mr Corbyn, said the party needs a “proud socialist leader" driven by their principles and "unwavering determination".
Ms Long-Bailey has assured voters that she would take the party "in a completely different direction".
She is backed by Labour's left, campaign group Momentum, trade union Unite the Union and senior Labour figures including Ian Lavery and John McDonnell.
Recently she announced her backing for an open selection process in the way Labour selects its parliamentary candidates.
Lisa Nandy
Wigan MP Lisa Nandy announced her candidacy in a letter to the Wigan Post on January 3. In it, she claimed to have "a deeper understanding of what has gone awry in our discredited political system" having represented her constituents since 2010.
She cited a lack of trust as the key factor in Labour’s defeat, blaming Mr Corbyn for failing to acknowledge the power of the Prime Minister’s Brexit message.
Through to the final round of the leadership contest, she has been described as the "dark horse" of the competition.
Recently, she voiced her concerns about New Labour's "Thatcherite consensus", accusing Tony Blair's government of continuing the late Tory Prime Minister's policies.
Ms Phillips backed Ms Nandy as her favourite to win after exiting the competition.
How did they get this far?
Firstly, they won the backing of at least 22 MPs or MEPs apiece to make it into the second round. Then they had two routes to pursue.
They could either win nominations from 5 per cent of Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs).
Or they had to get the support of three affiliated socialist organisations, including two unions. These groups had to be large enough to represent at least 5 per cent of affiliated members.
The party membership, which stood at more than 580,000 after the general election, each get a single and equal vote, as do do supporters who have paid a fee to take part.
They have until 12pm on April 2 to make their voices heard.
How does the voting work and when will winners be announced?
The ballot papers begin being emailed out on Monday, but those who have asked to vote in paper will have slips sent out to them in the post.
They are being sent in batches throughout the week.
The system used is a preferential vote, so if no candidate wins more than 50 per cent in the first round, then the candidate in last place is eliminated and their votes redistributed until the threshold is reached.
What are the key dates?
February 24
Ballot opens for Labour party members, registered and affiliated supporters, with voters ranking candidates in order of preference.
April 2
Ballot closes.
April 4
Results are announced and the new Labour leader is declared.
A special conference is scheduled for April 4. At that, the pair to lead the party after its worst general election defeat since 1935 will be announced.
They will assume the roles immediately, leaving Mr Corbyn to return to the backbenches unless the winner wants him in their shadow cabinet.
Who has pulled out?
Jess Phillips
Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips was one of the first of the five candidates to announce her bid. The backbencher would have represented a clean break from Corbyn-era politics.
But she pulled out of the race in January, saying she could not "unite the party".
A few weeks earlier, Clive Lewis also pulled out of the race after failing to get the support of MPs.
Others
Emily Thornberry made it through to the first stage of the contest by a whisker, receiving 23 backers in total – just one more than the required 22 – with just minutes to spare before the deadline.
But the shadow foreign secretary narrowly fell short of getting the support of 33 local Labour branches for the final stage and is now out of the running .
Other MPs were touted for the top job, including shadow international trade secretary Barry Gardiner, former leadership candidate Yvette Cooper and party chairman Ian Lavery, but all ruled themselves out.
Who is currently favourite to win?
Sir Keir is the clear favourite to win the leadership race, according to the bookmakers who have given the shadow Brexit secretary huge odds of 1/8 to win.
Ms Long-Bailey meanwhile has been listed at 17/2 and Ms Nandy has been priced 25/1 to win the Labour leadership race.
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