Over 100 local Labour councillors have endorsed Stella Creasy as deputy leader in a open letter to the New Statesman.

Describing the election as a "devastating defeat", the councillors describe Creasy as a "campaigner-in-chief", highlighting her success in tackling legal loan sharks, building a "campaign force which can change the law even from the opposition backbenches". 

The councillors, who represent councils across the United Kingdom and come from across the party, have no nominating power at this stage, despite the fact that local councillors are Labour's largest funders - donations from councillors outstrip even those of the trade unions -  but will provide a boost to Creasy's hopes of securing the 35 nominations she requires to make the ballot - she is 15 short having collected 20 so far.  Nominations close at midday on 17 June.

The full letter is below:

We are Labour councillors representing unitary, parish, town, district, borough, city and county councils across England, Scotland and Wales.

Our party suffered a devastating defeat at May's election. We must learn the lessons from that defeat and ensure that it never happens again. To do that we must move on from the battles of the past and look ahead to the challenges of the future. In order to change the country, we must first change our party. We must rebuild the Labour Party from the ground up as a national movement, not just a party machine.

The outcome of the election showed that we can't simply rely on old methods to deliver the right result in 2020. We must embrace new ways of doing things, invest in new technology and online campaigning techniques

We need a deputy leader who understands this. Someone who lives the role of 'Campaigner-in-Chief'. We believe Stella Creasy is that person.

Stella's campaign to tackle legal loan sharks showed that we can build a campaign force which can change the law even from the opposition backbenches. We must harness and grow that potential across the country - then, imagine what we could do together in government. Stella has been a councillor and a Mayor. She believes that those of us in local government can play a greater role in leading the resurgence that we so badly need. There is a huge opportunity for campaigning councillors, active in our communities, to be at the vanguard of change.

We can achieve change from the grassroots as well as the green benches. Our members are our best asset. They are people who believe fairness, prosperity and opportunity is open to all, not just those with the money or means to buy success. And people who are willing to stand up and defend this principle in their own communities. 50,000 new members have joined our ranks since the election. We must not ignore them until the next time we need doorstep fodder.

Too many people now see politics as a closed shop, for the few not the many. That means we miss out on their ideas and actions as they get put off taking part. Stella wants to want to change that. She represents the future of our party, and a new approach to politics which we so badly need if we are to win again.

Signed,

Cllr Saima Mahmud, Waltham Forest
Cllr Simon Blackburn, Council Leader, Blackpool 
Cllr Ronnie Nicholson, Leader, Dumfries and Galloway Labour Group
Cllr Gillian Campbell, Deputy Leader, Blackpool
Cllr Tim Dwelly, Leader, Cornwall Labour Group
Cllr Adam Hug, Leader, Westminster Labour Group

Cllr Stephen Cowan, Council Leader, Hammersmith and Fulham

Cllr Kevin Peel, Manchester
Cllr Doug James, Darlaston South, Walsall
Cllr Craig Hannaway, Redcar and Cleveland
Cllr James Adams, Glasgow City
Cllr Sean Morton, Moray 
Cllr Emily Benn, Croydon
Cllr Richard Johnson, Cambridge City
Cllr Carl Johnson, North Tyneside
Cllr Alice Smart, Leeds City
Cllr Josh Mills, Ashby
Cllr Jonny Morris, Plymouth
Cllr Masood Ahmed, Waltham Forest
Cllr Karen Bellamy, Waltham Forest
Cllr Liaquat Ali, Waltham Forest
Cllr Alistair Strathern, Waltham Forest
Cllr Raja Akhtar, Waltham Forest
Cllr Nadeem Ali, Waltham Forest
Cllr Shameen Highfield, Waltham Forest
Cllr Johar Khan, Waltham Forest
Cllr Ahsan Khan, Waltham Forest
Cllr Terry Wheeler, Waltham Forest
Cllr Marie Pye, Waltham Forest
Cllr Sally Littlejohn, Waltham Forest
Cllr Asim Mahmood, Waltham Forest
Cllr Anna Birley, Lambeth
Cllr Fred Cowell, Lambeth
Cllr Clare Holland, Lambeth
Cllr Martin Tiedemann, Lambeth
Cllr Roxanne Mashari, Brent
Cllr James Denselow, Brent 
Cllr David Daniels, Torfaen
Cllr Jon Harvey, Buckingham
Cllr Maxi Martin, Merton
Cllr Laura Price, Oxfordshire County
Cllr Monica Lennon, South Lanarkshire
Cllr Lynsey Hamilton, South Lankarkshire
Cllr Ged Killen, South Lanarkshire
Cllr Vince Maple, Medway
Cllr Jonathan McShane, Hackney
Cllr Louisa Thomson, Hackney
Cllr James Denselow, Hackney
Cllr Ian Rathbone, Hackney
Cllr Helen Dennis, Southwark
Cllr Kevin Robinson, Southend-on-Sea
Cllr Ed Mayne, Hounslow
Cllr Colin Smyth, Dumfries and Galloway 
Cllr Kiran Ramchandani, Harrow
Cllr Lynsey Hamilton, Clydesdale West
Cllr Altany Craik, Fife
Cllr Nick Crofts, Liverpool
Cllr Patrick Hurley, Liverpool
Cllr Gary Millar, Liverpool
Cllr Emily Spurrell, Liverpool
Cllr Ann O'Byrne, Liverpool 
Cllr Naushabah Khan, Medway
Cllr Andy Kinsey, Tameside
Cllr Tom Ross, Trafford
Cllr Nigel Todd, Newcastle upon Tyne
Cllr Vijay Singh Riyait, Leicester 
Cllr Rowan Draper, Stafford 
Cllr Kate Hooker, Ashford 
Cllr Maggie Barradell Brighton and Hove 
Cllr Julie Cattell Brighton & Hove 
Cllr Nikki Bond, Sheffield 
Cllr Peter Smith, Crawley
Cllr Barry Kirby, Gloucestershire - Deputy Labour Group Leader
Cllr Steven Thomas, Coventry
Cllr Karen Jewitt, Croydon
Cllr Stephen Smith, Cheshire West & Chester
Cllr Carole Baume, Milton Keynes
Cllr Phil Harris, Halton
Cllr Adam Langleben, Barnet
Cllr Craig Jones, Burton Upon Trent
Cllr Andy Hull, Islington
Cllr Emma Hoddinott, Rotherham
Cllr Luke Raikes, Manchester
Cllr Kate Chappell, Manchester
Cllr Josie Teubler, Manchester 
Cllr Paul Lynch, St Helens
Cllr Lee Holmes, Gateshead 
Cllr Steve Hughes, Rossendale 
Cllr Eamonn O'Brien, Bury
Cllr Will Hughes, Warrington

Cllr Keith Robson, Edinburgh City

Cllr Sue Macmillan, Hammersmith and Fulham
Cllr Max Schmid, Hammersmith and Fulham
Cllr Rory Vaughn, Hammersmith and Fulham
Cllr Larry Culhane, Hammersmith and Fulham
Cllr Vivienne Lukey, Hammersmith and Fulham
Cllr Ali Hashem, Hammersmith and Fulham
Cllr Adam Connell, Hammersmith and Fulham
Cllr Sue Fennimore, Hammersmith and Fulham
Cllr Andrew Jones, Hammersmith and Fulham
Cllr Ben Coleman, Hammersmith and Fulham
Cllr Natalia Perez-Shepherd, Hammersmith and Fulham 
Cllr Caroline Needham, Hammersmith and Fulham
Cllr Vivienne Lukey, Hammersmith and Fulham 
Cllr Elaine Chumnery, Hammersmith and Fulham 
Cllr Hannah Barlow, Hammersmith and Fulham 

Cllr Claire Spencer, Birmingham City

Cllr Ruth Werbiski, Buckinghamshire