Six MPs have entered the race to become Labour’s next deputy leader, following Angela Rayner’s resignation last week over a tax dispute. Candidates must secure the backing of 80 MPs by 5pm Thursday to proceed to the next round.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has emerged as the early frontrunner, with the most nominations in the first official tally. A close ally of Sir Keir Starmer, she has remained in her role after the recent reshuffle. Phillipson, who describes herself as a “proud working-class woman from the North East,” has won plaudits for her work in education and has vowed to take on Reform UK.
Former Commons leader Lucy Powell, with 35 nominations, is seen as a strong contender. Sacked in the reshuffle, her outsider status may work in her favour. Powell, from the party’s soft left, said her politics are “rooted in an understanding of people’s everyday hopes and fears.”
Backbencher Bell Ribeiro-Addy, from the left of the party, was first to declare. She has called for wealth taxes, scrapping the two-child benefit cap, and a full arms embargo on Israel. With eight nominations, she is unlikely to reach the next round but is using her campaign to push for policy changes.
Dame Emily Thornberry, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, has seven nominations. She wrote on X: “We’ve made mistakes and must listen. I will be a voice for the membership, unions, PLP, and our constituents – not just nod along.”
Liverpool Wavertree MP Paula Barker said she is running due to “the lack of geographical and political diversity at the top of our Party,” adding that Labour has “stepped too far away from traditional Labour principles.”
