2015 Labour Party deputy leadership election

2015 Labour Party deputy leadership election

← 2007 14 August – 12 September 2015 (2015-08-14 – 2015-09-12) 2020 →

Candidate Tom Watson Stella Creasy Caroline Flint First pref. 160,852 (39.4%) 78,100 (19.1%) 64,425 (15.8%) Final round 198,962 (50.7%) 103,746 (26.4%) 89,538 (22.8%)   Candidate Angela Eagle Ben Bradshaw First pref. 66,013 (16.2%) 39,080 (9.6%) Final round — —

Deputy Leader before election Harriet Harman Elected Deputy Leader Tom Watson

The 2015 Labour Party deputy leadership election was triggered on 8 May 2015 by the resignation of Harriet Harman as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party of the United Kingdom following the party's defeat at the 2015 General Election. Harman, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, became Acting Leader following Leader Ed Miliband's resignation. Harman announced on the same day that she would step down as Deputy Leader, with her resignation taking effect when the new Leader and Deputy Leader are elected.^[1]

Five candidates were successfully nominated to stand in the deputy leadership election: Ben Bradshaw, Stella Creasy, Angela Eagle, Caroline Flint, and Tom Watson. The voting process began on Friday 14 August 2015 and closed on Thursday 10 September 2015, with the results being announced on Saturday 12 September 2015. Voting was by Labour Party members and registered and affiliated supporters, using the alternative vote system.

Tom Watson was elected deputy leader with 50.7% of the vote on the third ballot.^[2][3] Coterminous with the deputy leadership election, in the 2015 Labour Party leadership election, Jeremy Corbyn was elected as leader.