Jess Phillips launches Labour leadership bid with focus on “truth”

Jess Phillips has launched her Labour leadership bid tonight, urging people to choose a “different kind of leader” who will “speak truth”, as she warns that “now is not the time to play it safe”.

The Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, a vocal critic of Jeremy Corbyn and his leadership, has released a video that features herself speaking in her own constituency and Labour-turned-Tory Delyn in Wales.

Revealing the strapline of her campaign – “Speak Truth. Win Power.” – the video emphasises Phillips’ entry into politics, through organising community events, and her work on issues relating to domestic abuse.

The MP also mentions that her grandfather was the cartoonist for the late Tony Benn and the Socialist Campaign Group, which suggests that her campaign may also try to appeal to the left of the party.

Phillips is set to officially kick off her bid on Saturday in the former Labour seat of Bury North, where she will take up ex-MP James Frith’s ‘marginal seat test‘ that invites all leadership hopefuls to engage with voters in his constituency.

It is thought that Phillips could gain the 22 MP and MEP nominations needed to reach the threshold, but securing enough nominations from local parties or trade unions is expected to be a tougher challenge.

Anyone seeking a place on the ballot paper in Labour’s leadership race first needs support from 10% of MPs and MEPs plus either 5% of local Labour parties or 5% of affiliated members including two trade unions.

Offering an analysis of Labour’s 2019 election performance in her launch statement, Phillips highlighted trust as a key factor. She said voters “don’t think we are honest, and they don’t trust us to be the people who get to make the decisions”.

Explaining her decision to stand in the contest, the backbencher added: “I wasn’t sure if I was going to stand in this contest but listening to the debate in the days after the election, I thought, we’ve got to elect someone who gets it. Someone who understands how serious this defeat was…

“There needs to be honesty in this leadership race. More important than that, there needs to be honesty with the voters who have turned away from Labour since 2005. In each case, the most fundamental point is this: we lost their trust.

“Only when we are clear and straightforward – inside and outside of the party – will people look again to Labour. Too often, like in the woeful response to antisemitism, the Labour Party has been afraid to speak the truth.

Arguing that Boris Johnson must be “challenged, with passion, heart and precision”, Phillips said: “Now is not the time to play it safe. What I’ve heard so far in this debate is totally inadequate to the scale of the problem. Voters have changed. The electoral map has been transformed.

“Communication in a social media age is different. We need to recognise that politics has changed in a fundamental way by electing a different kind of leader. More of the same will lead to more of the same result.”

Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday morning, ex-Labour MP Melanie Onn said of the leadership election: “I’m really looking for someone who is going to be honest. I’m looking for someone with a USP that is going to transcend normal politics.”

The former Great Grimsby representative, who lost her seat to the Tories last month, added: “Were Jess to formerly declare, she would be in a very good position to reach out to ordinary people around the country, speak their language, and make people feel like she understands what it is they’re saying.”

The only other Labour MPs who have confirmed their intentions to stand are Emily Thornberry and Clive Lewis. Those considered to be the frontrunners in the race, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Keir Starmer, have stopped short of formally declaring but set out their pitches via The Guardian.

Ian Lavery is thought to be mulling over a leadership bid, as are Lisa Nandy, David Lammy, Dan Jarvis and Yvette Cooper. Angela Rayner, Dawn Butler and Ian Murray are expected to run in the deputy leadership race.