Bridget Phillipson secures more than 100 nominations in deputy leadership race, with Powell close to 80 MP threshold

Bridget Phillipson has crossed the threshold of 80 nominations to secure a place in the next stage of the Labour deputy leadership contest.

Phillipson remains in pole position with 116 nominations, up 72 from yesterday evening, while Lucy Powell currently has 77 nominations, up 42 and three away from the required 80.

The three other candidates are considerably further behind the two frontrunners in the contest, with left-wing candidate Bell Ribeiro-Addy third with 15, Paula Barker with 14 and Emily Thornberry with 13.

A total of 235 MPs have now nominated a candidate in the race, equating to around 60% of the PLP.

Among Labour’s factions, a majority of MPs in the Labour Growth Group, Get Britain Working Group, Blue Labour, the Living Standards Coalition and Labour YIMBY are now backing Bridget Phillipson, with Lucy Powell leading among MPs affiliated with the Labour Rural Research Group.

The Socialist Campaign Group is split, with 14 MPs backing Bell Ribeiro-Addy and three supporting Paula Barker.

The latest wave of nominations comes just hours after Alison McGovern announced she was dropping out of the race to back Bridget Phillipson.

In her statement, 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 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.”

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