Sir Keir Starmer‘s ally Bridget Phillipson is set to battle it out against sacked Cabinet minister Lucy Powell for Labour’s deputy leadership.
Ms Phillipson, the Education Secretary, and Ms Powell, the former Commons Leader, are expected to go head-to-head in the next stage in the contest to replace Angela Rayner.
They were left as the two remaining deputy leadership candidates after Dame Emily Thornberry and Paula Barker pulled out the race earlier on Thursday.
Left-wing hopeful Bell Ribeiro-Addy also revealed tonight that she had failed to get the 80 nominations needed to progress to the next round.
She posted on X after nominations closed at 5pm: ‘I am disappointed that the full range of Labour members’ views will not be represented on the ballot paper.’
Ms Ribeiro-Addy hit out at a ‘less than democratic process’ as she urged the party’s leadership to ‘be more Labour’, warning ‘we cannot out-Reform Reform’.
Alison McGovern, a housing minister, became the first candidate to drop out of the contest on Wednesday.
It means Ms Phillipson and Ms Powell are due to be the two names on the ballot paper when Labour members are asked to vote for the party’s next deputy leader.
Official confirmation that Ms Phillipson and Ms Powell had received the required 80 nominations from among Labour MPs was expected on Thursday evening.
They will also now need to pick up the support of the required number of constituency parties and Labour affiliates over the weekend.
Ms Phillipson is being viewed as Downing Street’s de facto candidate in the deputy leader contest, while Ms Powell has been backed by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.
Mr Burnham is a long-time rival of the Prime Minister who is frequently touted as a replacement for Sir Keir should he make a return to Westminster.
Sir Keir Starmer’s ally Bridget Phillipson (pictured) is set to battle it out against sacked Cabinet minister Lucy Powell for Labour’s deputy leadership
Ms Powell, sacked by the PM as Commons Leader last week, has been supported by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham
Dame Emily withdrew from the deputy leader contest earlier on Thursday, saying it had been a ‘privilege’ to compete.
Ms Barker also pulled out and threw her weight behind Ms Powell.
Dame Emily only had 13 MP supporters as of Wednesday evening. She did not say who she would be backing out of the remaining candidates.
In the official figures published by Labour on Wednesday night, Ms Phillipson was show to have sailed through to the next round by securing 116 nominations.
Ms Powell, sacked by Sir Keir as Commons Leader last week, was just three short of the 80 nominations required to advance to the next stage.
Ms Barker, the Liverpool Wavertree MP who had 14 supporters as of Wednesday evening, said: ‘The next deputy leader must listen to the concerns of every section of our party and not be afraid to bring those challenges to the Government.
‘Being a good team doesn’t mean we can’t be honest, criticism of Government, when it’s constructive, makes us stronger.’
Senior MP Dame Emily Thornberry withdrew from the deputy leader contest earlier on Thursday, saying it had been a ‘privilege’ to compete
Paula Barker also pulled out the race and threw her weight behind Ms Powell. She said: ‘The next deputy leader must listen to the concerns of every section of our party
Left-wing hopeful Bell Ribeiro-Addy hit out at a ‘less than democratic process’ as she urged the party’s leadership to ‘be more Labour’, warning ‘we cannot out-Reform Reform’
Ms McGovern was the first candidate to drop out of the race on Wednesday as she offered her backing to fellow Government minister Ms Phillipson, saying the ‘momentum of this contest had shifted’.
The prospect of a contested election threatens to overshadow Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool at the end of September, with it described by some as a referendum on the PM’s leadership.
But neither Ms Phillipson, a Cabinet minister, nor Ms Powell has so far been openly critical of Sir Keir, while other candidates explicitly called for a change of direction.
Despite being sacked by Sir Keir last week, Ms Powell said she had been ‘proud’ to serve in Government when announcing her candidacy.
Ms Phillipson said she would ‘unite the party, take the fight to Reform, and deliver for our country’.
The deputy leadership contest was sparked by Ms Rayner’s resignation following her tearful admission that she didn’t pay enough tax on the purchase of her new flat.
