Lisa Nandy confirms leadership bid in local Wigan paper

Lisa Nandy has confirmed her Labour leadership bid in the Wigan Post, a local paper in the Greater Manchester constituency she represents, and has drawn attention to the need for devolution in the UK.

The backbench Labour MP, who served as Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary between 2015 and 2016, has become the fourth to officially declare – joining Jess Phillips, Clive Lewis and Emily Thornberry.

Others who have expressed an interest in putting themselves forward for the election include Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long-Bailey, while Ian Lavery, David Lammy and Dan Jarvis are also thought to be mulling over bids.

Setting out her reasons for standing in a letter sent exclusively to a regional newspaper, Nandy talked about the need to “win back the trust of people in Wigan, Workington and Wrexham” and the perception that leaders are “not interested in what you have to say”.

The Wigan MP criticised Westminster in her pitch, calling instead for devolution and decision-making abilities for “every town, city, region and nation in the UK”.

It is understood that Nandy’s team is confident of her ability to secure the 22 nominations needed from MPs and MEPs to get a place on the ballot paper.

Anyone seeking to run in Labour’s leadership race first needs support from 10% of MPs and MEPs plus either 5% of local Labour parties or 5% of affiliated members including two trade unions.