Thread by @FisherAndrew79

Thread on Labour leadership ...

So Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long Bailey, Lisa Nandy and Jess Phillips have passed the MP threshold … but they’re still a long way from getting on the ballot paper
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... To do that they need to also get the support of 5% of constituency Labour parties (33 CLPs) or 3 affiliates (two of which must be unions and must together account for 5% of the affiliates section)
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Getting 33 CLPs is not be easy:
In 2015 (a 4 horse race between Corbyn, Burnham, Cooper and Liz Kendall), Kendall only got 18 CLPs.
In a two-horse race in 2016 Owen Smith only managed 53
(not all CLPs will nominate either)
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And getting 5% of the affiliate section is even more difficult:
Only four unions give you that automatically: Unite, Unison, GMB and USDAW. But even then, you still need at least one other union and one other affiliate (union or socialist society)
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It’s very unlikely that all four candidates (sufficiently nominated by MPs) will get the nominations via either CLP or affiliate route

Unison is the only union to have nominated so far (Keir Starmer / Angela Rayner). It's a decent step for them but not sufficient (see above)
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I've seen some criticism for Unison not consulting their members before nominating
But this is only a recommendation. Unison members get their own ballot (there are no block votes any more)
And the Unison Labour Link Committee which nominated is elected by affiliated members
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But union nominations are significant - not just for making the threshold, but also for campaign funding
They also mean consideration for campaign ££s - vital in reaching the millions of voters (members, trade unionists & registered supporters) in a Labour leadership contest
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Also, look out for CLP nominations: they are a very good indication of the final result:

In 2015 153 CLPs nominated Jeremy Corbyn, 111 Andy Burnham, 109 Yvette Cooper and 18 Liz Kendall

In 2016, 285 nominated Jeremy Corbyn, 53 Owen Smith
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