Keir Starmer ally Bridget Phillipson sails through to next stage of Labour deputy
Sir Keir Starmer‘s ally Bridget Phillipson has sailed through to the next stage of Labour‘s deputy leadership contest.
The Education Secretary, who is being viewed as No10’s de facto candidate, has now been nominated by 116 MPs in the battle to become Labour’s number two.
It means she has easily cleared the threshold of 80 nominations needed to get on the ballot paper.
In the latest official figures released by Labour, recently-sacked ex-Cabinet minister Lucy Powell was shown to have 77 nominations – just shy of the number needed.
She was followed by Left-wing candidates Bell Ribeiro-Addy (15) and Paula Barker (14), while senior MP Dame Emily Thornberry trailed with just 13 nominations.
It came after housing minister Alison McGovern became the first candidate to drop out of the contest to replace Angela Rayner as Labour’s deputy leader.
Ms McGovern admitted she was not going to get the required 80 nominations from MPs to get through to a vote by party members.
She instead threw her support behind Ms Phillipson.
Sir Keir Starmer’s ally Bridget Phillipson has sailed through to the next stage of Labour’s deputy leadership contest
Sir Keir’s allies will be hoping to prevent an out-and-out Left-winger, who is hostile to the leadership, from making it through to next round of the contest.
With hustings happening this evening and the deadline for MP nominations at 5pm tomorrow, Ms Phillipson is now certain to make the final vote of party members.
But eyes are turning to who else will be in the run-off, with speculation that party members could end up backing the most Left-wing option available.
Ms Powell, a close ally of Sir Keir’s rival Andy Burnham, looks likely to join Ms Phillipson in the next round.
Ms Ribeiro-Addy and Ms Barker, seen as the most Left-wing contenders, have both criticised the process for hampering their chances.
There are claims that allies of Ms Phillipson have been telling MPs it would be better if she was crowned deputy unopposed.
In a statement on social media, Ms McGovern said: ‘Despite picking up support today it is clear that the momentum of this contest has shifted and I am not going to progress to the next stage.
‘I am pulling out of the race now to allow my supporters to switch their nominations to one of the remaining candidates before the deadline.
‘I want to thank everyone who has offered me support and encouragement in this race. I will be nominating my friend and colleague Bridget Phillipson as the candidate best-placed to unite our party and take the fight to our opponents.’
Alison McGovern became the first candidate to drop out of the contest to replace Angela Rayner as Labour’s deputy leader
In a statement on social media, Ms McGovern said: ‘Despite picking up support today it is clear that the momentum of this contest has shifted and I am not going to progress to the next stage’
Ms McGovern also pledged to continue making a ‘progressive argument’ regardless of the outcome of the contest, saying it was the only way of ‘standing up to the far right and the populists’.
Ms Barker told Times Radio that the main hustings tonight was too late.
‘We are on a one-line whip on Thursday which means that we don’t have to be in Parliament. So lots of colleagues will be travelling back to their constituencies at the time the hustings is taking place,’ she said.
‘I really don’t think that that is the best democratic way for us to run this contest.’
Sacked minister Lucy Powell (left), a close ally of Sir Keir’s rival Andy Burnham, and Emily Thornberry (right), who has promised to focus on Gaza and a wealth tax, are both in the field
Dame Emily swiped at Ms Phillipson as she launched her campaign, promising not to ‘just nod along’ with the leadership
Ms Barker also complained about the truncated contest, saying: ‘We have a very, very narrow window of opportunity.
‘That is remiss of the party and I would hope that, no matter who the deputy leader is at the end of this process, one of the first things they do is look at our internal processes.
‘There is definitely a need for a culture shift – the party must be far more inclusive.’
Dame Emily swiped at Ms Phillipson as she launched her campaign, promising not to ‘just nod along’ with the leadership.
She listed welfare, Gaza, a wealth tax and planned changes to special educational needs provision as her key issues.