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No 10’s pick for Labour deputy leader, Bridget Phillipson, will face off against the ousted cabinet minister Lucy Powell in a race widely seen as a referendum for party members on the direction of Keir Starmer’s leadership.
With Downing Street in turmoil after the sacking of the US ambassador, Peter Mandelson, Powell clinched 117 MPs’ nominations, taking her over the threshold to enter the ballot of Labour members. Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the leftwing Labour MP, failed to make the cut-off.
Phillipson, the education secretary, had already won enough nominations from MPs by Wednesday night but added to her tally of endorsements on Thursday, reaching 175.
Phillipson said: “I am so proud to have received well over half the nominations made by Labour MPs, from all wings of our party and from all corners of the country.
“Labour only wins when our party comes together: that is why I plan to give a voice at the cabinet table to all parts of our movement so that we have the best chance of delivering a second term.
“My message now to Labour party members is simple: back me to unite our party and our movement so we can beat Reform at the next election and build the Britain our children deserve.”
After clinching the nominations, Powell said: “This is not a contest I expected nor any of us wanted but we must use it to focus on how the new deputy leader can be a bridge for all parts of our movement and help the government deliver the progressive change the country needs.
“I am Labour through and through. I will always fight for our party, our values and our traditions. At a time when there are forces trying to spread division and hatred, Labour must be the voice of unity and hope.
“I look forward to speaking to as many members, activists and supporters as possible to make the case about the kind of full-time deputy leader I would be; laser focussed on connecting with our communities through our MPs, elected representatives and members fighting for the change our country needs.”
Labour MPs have depicted the race as a proxy war between the prime minister and the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, often tipped as a successor to Starmer. Powell, the MP for Manchester Central who was recently removed as leader of the House of Commons, is close to Burnham and was endorsed by him for the deputy leadership.
Powell’s team have dismissed the talk of proxies as wrong and sexist, but there are increasing fears about how the deputy leadership debate will play out. Many of those MPs who were removed in the recent reshuffle have backed Powell.
Tensions have also been raised after Mainstream, the new centre-left Labour organisation backed by Burnham, issued a strongly worded statement criticising the Mandelson saga.
Lord Mandelson was forced to quit over newly revealed affectionate emails with the late child sex offender and billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. The group said the misjudgment over Mandelson’s appointment showed Starmer was running a “narrow and brittle political project”.
Luke Hurst, Mainstream’s national coordinator, said: “Peter Mandelson’s inevitable sacking is what happens when you put your party faction’s interest before your party and before the country.
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“If Starmer keeps running a narrow and brittle political project it will break him and could break the Labour party. We need a government and party of all the talents and all the views.”
The strength of the statement sent shockwaves around MPs. “This basically is a leadership challenge,” one said.
Both Powell and Phillipson have pledged to be a leading campaigner for Labour around the country as part of their role as deputy leader. A source close to Phillipson said she had a broad base of support across all wings of the parliamentary Labour party, including the most new MPs and the most geographical diversity.
One ally said: “All her backers know that Bridget is the only candidate to unite the party, push our positive message out to the country and deliver the change we were elected to bring.”
The candidates must also gain nominations from constituency parties and affiliates before ballots are issued to members. A hustings for the candidates will take place at the Labour party conference, with ballots opening on Wednesday 8 October and closing on Thursday 23 October. The result will be declared on 25 October.
