Labour deputy leadership: Powell and Phillipson make pitches to members

Labour’s deputy leadership contest is set to dominate conference this year in the wake of Angela Rayner’s resignation.

As the campaign heats up, both Lucy Powell and Bridget Phillipson have sent out emails to members to make their pitch for the critical job.

Here is what both have had to say:

Lucy Powell

My name is Lucy Powell. I joined the Labour Party in 1989, and my politics were shaped growing up in Manchester during the Thatcher years.

I’m Labour through and through, and I know Labour succeeds when we draw on the strength of our broad movement and offer bold change and hope. I’ll always fight for our party, our movement and our values. And that’s why I’m standing to be your deputy leader.

A strong independent voice

We are at our best when we are really clear about whose side we are on, and in whose interests we serve – when our values shine through. As a full-time Deputy Leader, working with and alongside the government, I would ensure all voices are heard. I would be that much-needed bridge between our members, elected representatives and the communities we serve.

Our movement is our strength. Like you, I really want this government to succeed. I won’t snipe from the sidelines, but I’m not afraid to have the difficult conversations when we need to change course.

Fighting for the change our country needs

When we secured that majority in 2024, I felt the same huge pride every member did. An historic mandate to change the country in the interests of the many.

I’m proud to have served as Leader of the House of Commons in charge of transformative legislation: the biggest change in employment rights in a generation, putting our railways back in public hands, the creation of Great British Energy owned by all of us, ending water bosses’ bonuses.

Change that will transform the country. But too many of these achievements have been overshadowed by mistakes. We’ve got to turn this around because our communities need this Labour government to succeed. The stakes are too high. And that starts by listening and responding. I will be outside Cabinet, but inside every constituency, every council, every part of our movement, ensuring our politics, our values shape what we do. This is how I have always done politics and it’s why Ed Miliband, Lisa Nandy, Andy Burnham and so many others in our movement are backing me.

A progressive vision to unite us

The fracturing and division taking over our democracy worries us all. We have a huge responsibility to get this right. We see in our own communities we are at risk of losing support to all sides. Tacking one way or the other doesn’t work.

We must tell a better story and offer a bold vision that can unite our coalition and the country. In my own seat in Manchester, the city I grew up in and am proud to still call my home, I have faced exactly this. Half my seat is “red-wall” with traditional working class communities, the other half urban with voters that lean to the left. So, I know what it takes.

Campaigning full-time, laser focused on these tasks towards elections next year, I can help us succeed and feel proud. But I need your help. If you want to get involved in this campaign or you’ve got a question or idea, join me at one of our events online.

Thank you for taking the time to read this email. I know your time is precious and I know you care about the future of our party and most importantly our country.

Bridget Phillipson

Labour delivers for our country when we unite together. That is why I am asking for your support to be the next Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

My message is simple: we need to unite the party to deliver real change and win a second Labour term. By backing me, you can be part of this change. Back Bridget to change Britain My story is the story of what Labour can do in power.

I’ve come from a single parent family on a tough street of council houses, all the way to the Cabinet, delivering better life chances for young people up and down the land. That’s the change Labour governments bring.

I’m proud of the change I have started in the last year: free breakfast clubs by ending private schools tax breaks, Sure Start revived and free school meals for half a million more children. Change that people can feel every day. Change that is true to Labour values. The change that you helped secure last summer.

But I know we need to go further. At the last election we knocked on doors offering people hope for a brighter future. Together we can deliver it. Back Bridget to deliver change I’m asking for your support so I can make sure your voice is heard. I’ve shown we can beat Farage in the north east by staying true to Labour values.

The path to victory runs through all our regions and nations, towns and cities, countryside and coastlines. It means defeating parties who cannot bring change as well as those who don’t bring hope.

By electing me as a strong campaigning Deputy Leader we can build on the work done by Angela Rayner, and deliver the change our country needs. It’s time to make you feel proud knocking on doors to tell voters of the difference a Labour government is making. It’s time to unite our party to deliver change for our country. We can only do this together.

READ MORE: Labour Party Conference 2025: Full LabourList events programme, revealed

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