Sadiq Khan has declared that he is supporting Keir Starmer in the contest to decide who will be the next leader of the Labour Party.

The mayor of London tweeted his support for the Camden MP this morning, after ruling out voting for rival candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey last week.

Khan said: “I will be voting for Keir Starmer to be the next Labour leader. I’ve known Keir for decades. He’s the best person to unite our party, take the fight to the Tories and put Labour in government.”

Starmer replied: “I’m honoured to have received Sadiq’s backing to be the next Labour leader. Sadiq is demonstrating that Labour in power can change lives. I look forward to campaigning alongside him to keep London Labour.”

Starmer secured his place on the ballot after being nominated by 374 local parties, as well as affiliated organisations UNISON, Usdaw and the TSSA among others.

The endorsement from the mayor follows a video message from Tony Blair urging members to back Ian Murray for the deputy leadership. The former Prime Minister has not backed a candidate for leader.

The Scottish candidate for deputy also received the backing of Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling, Roy Hattersley and Baroness Smith – the wife of the late Labour leader John Smith.

Other high-profile personal endorsements include Maxine Peake for Rebecca Long-Bailey, and Ricky Tomlinson for Starmer.

Voting in the leadership and deputy elections has started with members, affiliates and registered supporters receiving their ballots by email or post this week.

Those members that joined before January 20th can vote in the process. Approximately 100,000 people joined the party in the run-up to the cut-off date.