Bridget Phillipson announces bid to become Labour deputy leader

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has announced she is standing to become deputy leader of the Labour Party.

Nominations for the contest have opened this morning, with potential candidates having until Thursday afternoon to get the support of 80 MPs to progress further in the election.

In a statement, Phillipson reflected on her background as a “working-class woman from the north-east”, coming from a single-parent family to enter the Cabinet “determined to deliver better life chances for young people growing up in our country”.

She said: “Make no mistake: we are in a fight. We all know the dangers Reform poses our country. But not only am I ready for it: I’ve proven we can do it.”

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Phillipson is due to address the TUC Congress in Brighton, the only Cabinet member set to take to the stage at the annual conference.

Only one other contender has so far announced their intention to stand, Clapham and Brixton Hill MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who has been backed by several of the party’s left-wing MPs, including Nadia Whittome, Richard Burgon and Andy McDonald.

Other contenders are said to include Emily Thornberry and Lucy Powell, while several potential frontrunners have ruled themselves out of the contest, including Rosena Allin-Khan, Louise Haigh and Shabana Mahmood.

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