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Polls close in Labour deputy race | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Voting has closed in the race to be Labour's next deputy leader with the result to be announced at a special party conference on Sunday. | |
The six contenders were battling for support from Labour Party members, MPs and MEPs up until ballots closed. | |
Campaign team canvassing suggests the turnout could be in the 30%-50% range among Labour and union members. | Campaign team canvassing suggests the turnout could be in the 30%-50% range among Labour and union members. |
Alan Johnson is favourite at the bookmakers but experts say the contest is difficult to call. | |
Much will rest on which candidate voters choose to name as their second preference, following a marathon seven-week campaign and more than a dozen public debates. | |
The votes - which include three million cast by trade union members - will be counted in a series of rounds. | |
Assuming no single candidate gains an overall majority of votes in the first round, the last place candidate will drop out. | |
At this point, the second choice vote of that candidate's backers will be allocated to the others - and the same process will be repeated until one of the contenders gets to the 50% mark. | |
The last of the hustings was a "virtual" one, screened on the Labour Party YouTube site on Thursday. | The last of the hustings was a "virtual" one, screened on the Labour Party YouTube site on Thursday. |
The candidates are International Development Secretary Hilary Benn, Labour chairwoman Hazel Blears, backbencher Jon Cruddas, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, Justice minister Harriet Harman and Education Secretary Alan Johnson. | The candidates are International Development Secretary Hilary Benn, Labour chairwoman Hazel Blears, backbencher Jon Cruddas, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, Justice minister Harriet Harman and Education Secretary Alan Johnson. |
Hilary Benn, who struggled to gain enough support from MPs to get on to the ballot paper, has traded places with Mr Johnson as the bookmakers' favourite. | |
The result of the contest, to succeed John Prescott as deputy party leader, will be announced at a special party conference in Manchester on Sunday afternoon. | The result of the contest, to succeed John Prescott as deputy party leader, will be announced at a special party conference in Manchester on Sunday afternoon. |