Labour WILL hold hustings event in Yorkshire as list of MPs standing to replace Jeremy Corbyn is confirmed

A list of venues at which the candidates to become Labour’s leader and deputy leader will make their pitch was published online yesterday, prompting anger from MPs and campaigners when it was noticed Yorkshire had been left off the list despite the party losing nine seats in the area in last month’s General Election.

But The Yorkshire Post understands there will be an event in the region - likely in Leeds - and was told there was always going to be one, despite this not being included in the initial list and local MPs seeming to be unaware of those plans.

Earlier in the day, Louise Haigh, MP for Sheffield Heeley, tweeted: “The more I think about this the angrier I get.

“I don't want to abandon communities in South Yorks, the North East, South Wales or accept we will never win them back.

“If we can't, we will never be a party of government again and frankly we won't deserve to.”

While Yvette Cooper, MP for Normanton, Pontecfract, and Casteford, said it was “ridiculous” there would not be hustings locally. She said: “We need more people to be able to get involved in rebuilding our party and support in Yorkshire, not less.”

Batley and Spen MP Tracy Brabin added: “I lost four amazing colleagues in West Yorkshire alone. Why are we not having a hustings in Yorkshire? To win back the red wall we need to connect with the people who live there.”

While former Scunthorpe Labour MP Nic Dakin sniped: “Well the powers that be are the ones that thought a December GE on getting Brexit done would turn out well so they probably think Liverpool’s just down the road from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.”

Candidates in the race to replace Jeremy Corbyn as leader also criticised the party's decision to ignore parts of the so-called "red wall".

Frontrunner Sir Keir Starmer said he was "disappointed" debates would not be held in the South East, east of England or Yorkshire - where Labour lost several key seats.

The Shadow Brexit Secretary tweeted: "I'm disappointed the Party hasn't organised hustings in the South East, East of England or Yorkshire. Labour can win the next election, but only if we win back people's trust across the UK.

"I'll be writing to the NEC tomorrow asking them to reconsider."

Wigan MP Lisa Nandy, who has 24 nominations, said: “The Labour leadership campaign can send a powerful message to the country about whether we are ready to listen. We can start by putting some of our hustings events in the places we need to win back.

"As I have repeatedly said, the Labour Party has lost seats for the first time in our history in areas like Bolsover, Wrexham and Stoke.

"The failure to debate the future of our party in communities like these shows that we are part of the problem."

It is now confirmed that five candidates will battle it out to become the next Labour leader after a dramatic late show of support saw Emily Thornberry scrape through to the next stage of the contest.

The Shadow Foreign Secretary was short of the 22 nominations required to make it through to the last stage of the contest until shortly before the 2.30pm deadline, but finally managed to secure 23.

Sir Keir led the way with 89 nominations, while Rebecca Long-Bailey had 33, Ms Nandy 31 and Jess Phillips 23.

Shadow Treasury Minister Clive Lewis abandoned his own leadership bid this afternoon after acknowledging he stood no chance of making the next round, giving his supporters time to back other candidates.

Hustings for the leader and deputy leader elections kick off in Liverpool, with events planned each weekend in cities including Durham, Bristol, Cardiff, Nottingham, Glasgow and London.

There will also be hustings in the West Midlands and Bedford.

In the race for deputy leader, which is running in parallel with the contest for the top job, three more candidates successfully went through today.

Rosena Allin-Khan, Leeds MP Richard Burgon and Dawn Butler reached the magic number of 22 with only hours to spare before the deadline.

They join Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner and Ian Murray in progressing to the next round.

Candidates in both races now need to get the nominations of 33 local constituency parties or three Labour affiliates, including at least two trade unions, to enter the final postal ballot of party members and registered supporters.

Over the weekend, the left-wing activist group Momentum, which helped propel Mr Corbyn to the leadership in 2015, said it was recommending support for Ms Long-Bailey and Ms Rayner.