Bridget Phillipson has launched her bid to become Labour's deputy leader, warning that divided parties do not win elections and that the party cannot afford to hand Nigel Farage's Reform UK an advantage. The Education Secretary is running to replace Angela Rayner, who is standing down from the role.
In a message to Labour members, Phillipson said she wants to unite the party to deliver change and secure a second Labour term. She highlighted her work in government, including rolling out free breakfast clubs, reviving Sure Start through Best Start Family Hubs, opening new school-based nurseries, securing free school meals for half a million more children, and ending tax breaks for private schools.
Phillipson stressed that the path to victory runs through all regions and nations, but warned that disunity would be a gift to Reform. With elections in Scotland, Wales, and local elections approaching, she said the party must not re-open old wounds or return to the division that kept Labour in opposition for fourteen years.
She pledged to continue Angela Rayner's campaigning role as deputy leader, focusing on getting Labour councillors, MSPs, MSs, and MPs re-elected, and giving members a strong voice at the Cabinet table. Phillipson, who grew up on a council estate in the northeast, said Labour governments transformed her life and that only Labour offers the freedom to choose your course in life.
Calling for unity around common values, she said the country cannot afford the alternative of disunity, and that Labour must come together to deliver more and change Britain for good.
