UK Shadow Secretary of State Withdraws Labour Party Leadership Bid

Mary Creagh, a British Labour Party politician and the current Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, announced on Friday that she is pulling out the Labour leadership race in a statement, quoted by the Guardian.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The announcement comes several days before the nominations for the Labour Party leader will close on June 15.

"I am withdrawing from the race to be the leader of the Labour party. I will not be nominating any other candidate, but I am announcing my withdrawal now so that the MPs who have supported me have the opportunity to nominate another candidate, should they wish to do so."

Elizabeth Kendall, the Shadow Care and Older People Secretary, Andy Burnham, the Shadow Health Secretary, Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary and Jeremy Corbyn, Member of Parliament for Islington North, are now due to compete for the party’s leadership.

All candidates, except for Corbyn, have already surpassed a 35-nominations threshold from parliamentarians, the quota needed to be included in the ballot paper.

The 2015 Labour Party leadership election was triggered by the resignation of the party’s former head, Ed Miliband, after his party lost the May general election in the United Kingdom.

Labour garnered only 232 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons, the lower house of British parliament, at the May 7 general election, while the party’s main rival, the Conservatives, won 331 seats, securing a majority government.