Salford & Eccles MP Rebecca Long-Bailey has officially announced her bid to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party today.

The announcement was made in an article penned by Ms Long-Bailey in the socialist magazine Tribune.

In the article, Ms Long-Bailey wrote that “we need a proud socialist to lead the Labour Party, driven by their principles and an unwavering determination to see democratic socialism in our lifetime.

“For all of these reasons and more, I have decided to stand for election to become the next leader of our party.”

Ms Long-Bailey’s announcement came as the party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) set out the timetable for election, with the new leader to be announced at a conference on Saturday April 4.

The NEC also confirmed that, as in 2016, “registered supporters” will be able to vote if they pay a £25 fee.

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Long-Bailey was born in Stretford and has represented the constituency of Salford & Eccles since 2015.

Currently the Shadow Business Secretary, she is a favourite of the left-wingers within the Labour Party given her close association with current leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Although some fear that it is this very association which will defeat any chance of the Salford & Eccles MP getting close to becoming the next Labour leader

Party chairman Ian Lavery immediately announced he would not be standing and would be backing Ms Long-Bailey.

In Tribune Magazine, Ms Long-Bailey wrote that “the election result was devastating” and that “[Labour] need a leader that can be trusted with our socialist agenda”.

“An ambitious socialist vision is only the first step.

“We also need to rebuild our electoral coalition and implement our vision.

Labour’s path to victory lies in reuniting all our heartlands, from the communities that voted to leave in the North and Midlands, to those in Scotland who abandoned Labour in 2015 and our growing young, diverse strongholds in cities.”

In addition to Ms Long-Bailey and Sir Keir Starmer, four other candidates have announced they intend to stand for the leadership – frontbenchers Emily Thornberry and Clive Lewis, and backbenchers Jess Phillips and Lisa Nandy.

Former cabinet minister Yvette Cooper has ruled out a leadership bid.

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