Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who himself faces a battle to be re-elected in May, said he had known Sir Keir "for decades" as he endorsed the candidate for Labour leadership contest. The former government minister said Sir Keir was the "best person" to unite the party, "take the fight" to Boris Johnson and return Labour to power.
It comes as Rebecca Long-Bailey revealed her leadership campaign has had a significant cash boost from union Unite and campaign group Momentum.
Unite, which endorsed the shadow business secretary last month, made two separate donations of £100,000 each last month, according to figures published on the MPs campaign website, as well as a payment of £15,000 towards staff costs.
The union was Labour's biggest donor at the 2019 general election, spending more than £3m on the campaign. Khan tweeted,
“I will be voting for Keir Starmer to be the next Labour leader. I have known Keir for decades. He is the best person to unite our party, take the fight to the Tories and put Labour in government. #AnotherFutureIsPossible.”
Voting in the contest between Sir Keir, Mrs Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy began earlier this week, with the result to be announced on 4 April.
