Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has emerged as the early frontrunner in the race to replace Angela Rayner as Labour’s deputy leader.
After days of speculation over who Sir Keir Starmer’s preferred candidate would be, Ms Phillipson is seen as the leadership’s choice and should easily get the 80 MPs needed to nominate her.
Hours after she threw her hat in the ring, a poll by Survation for Labour-focused website LabourList shows she is in pole position with Labour members.
She topped the poll with an overall favourability rating – the percentage of members who say they are a good candidate, minus those who say they are a bad candidate – of +39 per cent. Emily Thornberry, the MP for Islington South and Finsbury and the next most popular candidate, who has also announced she will stand, was on +20 per cent.
Many have argued that after Ms Rayner’s departure over failing to pay £40,000 in stamp duty on a £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex, the party needs a non-London MP and a woman to balance out Sir Keir. Ms Phillipson fits the bill, representing Houghton and Sunderland South.
The contest comes as many within the party seek reassurances about government policy following a reshuffle many there have described as “a right-wing coup”.
In a statement announcing her candidacy, Ms Phillipson said: “Today I am putting myself forward as a candidate for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party, to unite our great party and deliver for working people.”
Leaning on her working-class credentials, she went on: “I am a proud working-class woman from the northeast. I have come from a single-parent family on a tough council street, all the way to the cabinet, determined to deliver better life chances for young people growing up in our country.”
Ms Phillipson has been the face of one of the government’s more left-wing policies, pushing through the decision to add VAT on to private school fees to pay for 6,000 more teachers in state schools.
She said: “I’ve taken on powerful vested interests in the education sector – and even as they threw everything at me, I have never taken a backwards step. I will bring that same determination to every battle ahead of us.
“Because make no mistake: we are in a fight. We all know the dangers Reform poses to our country.”
She added: “But not only am I ready for it, I’ve proven we can do it. I’ve shown we can beat Farage in the northeast, while staying true to the Labour Party’s values of equality, fairness and social justice.
“With me as deputy leader, we will beat them right across the country and unite to deliver the opportunity that working people across this great country deserve.”
She already appears to have the backing of health secretary Wes Streeting, who stated his preference for “a northern woman”.
He told Times Radio: “I think without being disrespectful to some brilliant women in London who are standing like Emily Thornberry, I’ve got a lot of respect for, I can well understand why lots of my colleagues are saying we should have a deputy leader from outside London to broaden perspectives, broaden the base.”
Former shadow cabinet minister Ms Thornberry, who was left out of Starmer’s cabinet in government, said she would speak out and “not just nod along” with the party leadership, adding it had “made mistakes and must listen.”
She listed among her top issues Gaza and welfare, two policies expected to be popular among Labour voters, as well as a wealth tax and changes to special educational needs (SEND), which are expected to include cuts.
Meanwhile, Lucy Powell, who was sacked by Starmer as leader of the Commons last week, also announced she will stand.
She said she would bring together “all parts of the party” and champion backbench MPs, whose votes she will need to get on the ballot paper.
She said the party must use “all our talents and experience” to be successful and that “means responding to the huge challenges we face with bold policies, rooted in progressive Labour values”.
Minister Alison McGovern also announced her candidacy, promising to be a fresh voice for Labour values and to take on right-wing populism.
Other early contenders also seeking the 80 MP nominations by 11 September are Clapham and Brixton Hill MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Liverpool MP Paula Barker, both from the left of the party.
Others have ruled themselves out, including former transport secretary Louise Haigh, who had been a popular alternative from outside the leadership.
