Owen Smith will take on Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership in a head-to-head race that will see the pair clash repeatedly during the summer before a result is announced at the party’s conference on 24 September.
The Pontypridd MP became the sole challenger to Corbyn following a decision by Angela Eagle to pull out of the race after it became clear she would fall short of her opponent when it came to nominations from MPs and MEPs.
Eagle said she would throw all her “enthusiasm and might” behind Smith, as she urged people to pay £25 to sign up as registered supporters before 5pm on Wednesday so they could vote in the contest.
The pair indicated that they would be putting themselves forward as a joint ticket, with Eagle saying she would work in “lockstep” with the former shadow work and pensions secretary.
Smith will seek to present his campaign for a leadership team drawn from all sides of the party. Describing Eagle as a great friend and a pioneer in the party, he added: “I will want to work side by side with Angela throughout this contest. I want Angela to be at my right hand throughout this.”
In an appeal to the party membership, he said: “I want to say to all members of the Labour party tonight, young and old, longstanding and new members: I can be your champion. I am just as radical as Jeremy Corbyn.”
Smith had attracted the nominations of 90 colleagues, including 88 MPs and two MEPs, while the Guardian understands that Eagle had the backing of 63 MPs and a further nine MEPs.
Both men will now take their campaigns to members, with ballot papers and online voting information being sent out to eligible members, who joined before January, on 22 August. They then have a month to decide before returning their papers by 21 September or voting online, with the result announced at Labour’s Liverpool conference.
Corbyn, who was challenged following a vote of no confidence by three quarters of Labour MPs, is expected to launch his campaign this week. His pitch to the members who supported him in large numbers last summer is that he has led the party to successful results in local elections and deserves credit for his anti-austerity stance and for government U-turns on “cruel tax credit cuts” and reforms of disability benefits.
In a note to members, Corbyn conceded that “our party is divided”, but argued that he could unify it again. “We need to use this contest to bring people together around strong policies to turn our fire on to the Tory government. There must be no personal abuse or threatening behaviour,” he wrote, after Eagle and he received death threats. “Let’s have a comradely debate this summer.”
One source close to the leadership said that the big worry for Corbyn’s team had been losing in the second round. “With Angela as the rightwing candidate, it would have been easier for Owen to pull off some of our vote and then grab all of Angela’s second preferences in a run off,” they said. “In some respects, he’s an easier beast to fight, as it’s obvious now to voters that he’s the Blair-lite candidate and he can’t hide it any more.”
Smith, who admitted it would be a difficult few months, is preparing to go to members with policies such as restoring wage councils, a £200bn investment plan, a referendum on the Brexit deal, an ethical foreign policy, and a new war powers act to help parliament scrutinise future conflicts.
“It’s clear that we must oppose failed Tory austerity. However, it is not enough to just be anti-austerity, we need a concrete plan for prosperity,” he said in his note to members, in a swipe at Corbyn who he has accused of offering slogans but not solutions.
Smith said the party owed Corbyn a debt of gratitude for helping Labour to rediscover its radical roots. “But we need a new generation of Labour men and women to take this party forward.” He said his decision to stand was partly because Labour was at a moment of real risk, arguing that the “possibility of split is dangerously real”.
The Welsh MP, who was nominated by the former leader Ed Miliband, will now win the backing of the vast majority of Labour MPs as Eagle supporters swing behind him in their bid to defeat Corbyn.
But there was some disappointment that Labour would not be putting forward a woman, after the Conservative party welcomed its second female prime minister.
Jess Phillips MP said she was completely behind Smith, but added: “All credit to Angela because she was brave and she came out and stuck her head above the parapet. It is much worse for female Labour MPs, the amount of hatred and vitriol that comes our way.
“Why would you sacrifice time with your family, time to do your job properly, see your constituents properly to basically be a figure of hatred, deep twisted hatred? The message it sends out to women activists around the country is politics is not for you, it’s not worth it.”
Others were quick to highlight that Smith was backed by a large number of women, with his campaign being co-chaired by the former shadow cabinet members, Kate Green, Heidi Alexander and Lisa Nandy. “It would be amazing to see Labour deliver a woman as prime minister but first we have to unite this party, heal and turn into an effective force to win a general election,” said Nandy.
She said Smith was a campaigning politician who was aware that this was the moment that members could choose to “set the Labour party back on the path to power”, a move that she argued was critical for many women in her Wigan constituency. “Angela is an incredibly tough politician who has acted in a way that shows, as always, that she has the interests of the Labour party at her core.”
Eagle had come under pressure to step down halfway through the period for nominations by MPs and MEPs following a clamour within the party for a single candidate to take on Corbyn.
There were fears that the battle between the pair was a distraction from a campaign called Saving Labour, which is trying to persuade people to sign up to vote against Corbyn by Wednesday’s deadline. But the Labour leader is also backed by the grassroots movement Momentum, which has a network of more than 100,000 supporters and the ability to mobilise people quickly.
The contest follows a fierce battle within the party’s national executive committee, which has triggered legal challenges from both sides. It decided that Corbyn would automatically be placed on the ballot without nomination, but also laid out new rules for a £25 fee and blocked more than 130,000 new members who have joined since January from voting.
Stephen Doughty MP, who had backed Eagle, said her supporters were naturally disappointed but full of praise for the way she had conducted herself at every stage of the contest with “dignity and courage”.
“I have no doubt all of us who supported her will now throw our full support behind Owen – who has also showed a significant ability to communicate and inspire with a radical anti-austerity programme to stand up for our communities and take the fight to the Tories.”
