Education secretary and Manchester MP look destined for face-off as three other candidates struggle for MP nominations
Labour’s deputy leadership contest is set to be a race between the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, and the ousted cabinet minister Lucy Powell, as three other candidates in the race struggled to make nominations.
Phillipson comfortably cleared the hurdle of 80 nominations on Wednesday evening with backing from 116 MPs, but Powell was not yet at the threshold with 77 nominations.
The three other candidates, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Paula Barker and Emily Thornberry, all received support from fewer than 15 MPs and the communities minister Alison McGovern pulled out of the race on Wednesday afternoon and endorsed Phillipson.
Several MPs said any race between Powell and Phillipson would be deeply uncomfortable for No 10. “It’s a proxy war between Keir and Andy Burnham,” said one MP, referring to Powell’s close ties to the mayor of Greater Manchester, seen by many as a potential successor to Starmer.
