Ballots open on Wednesday for Labour members and affiliates in the race for deputy leader, with Lucy Powell and Bridget Phillipson as the main contenders. Polling by Survation for LabourList suggests Powell is the clear frontrunner, backed by 57% of members compared to 26% for Phillipson. About one in five remain undecided.
At a rally in east London, Powell told party members she would not 'sugarcoat' how badly the party is doing. She promised to challenge Downing Street's 'groupthink' and push for a change of approach. 'We must be more authentic, telling a stronger story about the purpose of the Labour government and whose side we’re on,' she said.
Powell, who was sacked from the shadow cabinet at the last reshuffle, is expected to attract votes from members wanting a progressive turn from Keir Starmer's government. She said Labour is losing support on both its right and left flanks, to Reform UK and to the Greens and Liberal Democrats, and that 'trying to out-Reform Reform doesn’t work'.
Phillipson, broadly viewed as No 10’s preferred candidate, has won endorsements from unions including Unison and GMB. She spoke of her journey from poverty in the north east to the cabinet, and pledged to make tackling child poverty her number one priority as deputy leader. 'I want to unite our party, deliver change for working people and beat Reform, and deliver the second Labour term our children deserve,' she said.
Ballots close on Thursday 23 October at noon, with results declared on Saturday 25 October.
