Candidates vye for MPs’ backing in Labour deputy leadership race

Candidates for Labour’s deputy leadership have begun vying for nominations from their colleagues, with five MPs now in the race to succeed Angela Rayner.

Liverpool Wavertree MP Paula Barker confirmed on Tuesday that she would put her name forward, making her the fifth person to enter the contest.

She follows Lucy Powell, who was sacked by Sir Keir Starmer as leader of the Commons last week and announced her candidacy earlier on Tuesday.

The Manchester Central MP had been urged by several of her colleagues to stand for the deputy leadership, and said she had made the decision “after much encouragement”.

Describing herself as “proud” to have served in Sir Keir’s government, Ms Powell said her politics were “rooted” in “an understanding of people’s everyday hopes and fears”.

She said: “As our deputy leader, I would ensure these are at the heart of what we do and how we operate, bringing together all parts of the party and uniting our broad voter coalition.”

Ms Powell joins fellow candidates Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Bridget Phillipson and Dame Emily Thornberry in the contest to succeed Ms Rayner, who quit last week after a row over her tax affairs.

Several figures within the party have expressed a preference for Ms Rayner’s successor to be a woman, while some have also called for the new deputy leader to be from the north of England.

While this would include Ms Powell, Ms Barker and Ms Phillipson, who represents Houghton and Sunderland South, it would rule out London-based Ms Riberio-Addy and Dame Emily.

Ms Ribeiro-Addy was the first to declare her candidacy, announcing her bid on Monday night.

Seen as coming from the left of the party and supported by Socialist Campaign Group chairman Richard Burgon, she has called for Labour to “go back to the guiding values of our party and movement”.

She has also called for wealth taxes, scrapping the two-child benefit cap, imposing a full arms embargo and sanctions on Israel, unbanning Palestine Action and returning the whip to MPs “punished for voting with their consciences”.

But it is Ms Phillipson who is the early frontrunner, securing public backing from several colleagues on social media and in private.

Announcing her bid for the deputy leadership, she described herself as “a proud working-class woman from the North East” who had gone from “a single-parent family on a tough council street” to the Cabinet table.

Adding that she had taken on “powerful vested interests in the education sector” and “never taken a backwards step”, she pledged to “bring that same determination to every battle ahead of us”.

Ms Phillipson said: “Because, make no mistake, we are in a fight. We all know the dangers Reform poses to our country.

“But not only am I ready for it, I’ve proven we can do it. I’ve shown we can beat Farage in the North East, while staying true to the Labour Party’s values of equality, fairness and social justice.”

Dame Emily, the chairwoman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, vowed that she would be “a voice for the membership, unions, PLP (Parliamentary Labour Party), and our constituents – not just nod along”.

She also listed welfare, Gaza, a wealth tax and planned changes to special educational needs provision as her key issues.

Nominations for the deputy leadership opened on Tuesday and candidates have until 5pm on Thursday to secure the backing of 80 MPs in order to reach the next round of the contest.

The truncated nomination period has led some to accuse the party leadership of orchestrating a “stitch-up”, while Ms Ribeiro-Addy described it as “unfair”.

She added: “The Labour Party is a broad church and, actually, when we are able to have debates, when we are able to bring forward different views, it actually makes us better.”