Gloria De Piero: Ashfield and Eastwood MP backs Liz Kendall as Labour Leader

De Piero, the Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, wrote on Twitter last week that she would be voting for the Leicester West MP as the party’s new front.

Her nomination means that Kendall, who is currently shadow minister for care and older people, will make it to the final ballot paper.

She also wrote that she would be backing Tom Watson, MP for West Bromwich East, as deputy.

Nominations for both positions closed earlier this week and it was announced that Kendall will be competing against Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Jeremy Corbyn.

De Piero is delighted to have nominated a woman for leader who has been an MP for just five years.

She said: “It’s important that we bring a fresh perspective to the debate as Labour lost badly at the general election.”

She added that Tom Watson, who currently has more than 50 nominations, is an “energetic Labour champion”.

“Both Liz and Tom have been to Ashfield on a number of occasions to campaign for Ashfield Labour.”

The short-list of the deputy candidates is due to be released today.

Ben Bradshaw, Caroline Flint, Angela Eagle, Stella Creasy and Rushanara Ali are amongst Tom Watson’s competition.

The campaign for a new leader comes after Ed Miliband, MP for Doncaster North, resigned from the position following the party’s failure in the 2015 general election.

When resigning, Miliband told an audience of supporters that he takes responsibility for the result.

Ballots will be sent out on 14th August and voting will close on 10th September.

The new party leader will be announced on 12th September.

For more information and news about the campaign, visit

www.labour.org.uk.