By DAVID WILCOCK, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 10:57 BST, 9 October 2025 | Updated: 10:58 BST, 9 October 2025
He may be long gone and setting up a new party to steal voters from Labour, but the shadow of former leader Jeremy Corbyn still hangs over the party and the election of Keir Starmer's new deputy.Supporters of Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary and Starmerite candidate, have warned that the remaining rump of Corbynistas in the party are lining up behind her rival Lucy Powell.Luke Akehurst, the Durham MP, hit out on social media after Momentum, the pressure group founded by supporters of Mr Corbyn, urged supporters to vote for Ms Powell.Momentum stopped short of a full endorsement of Ms Powell, but advocated a tactical vote after the move was supported by 74 per cent of members in a ballot.In a statement the organisation said that without a 'socialist candidate' on the slate, 'a victory for Powell is the best option to show the breadth of concern in the Labour Party and labour movement over the direction our Government is taking.'Mr Akehurst, who supports Ms Phillipson, took to Twitter to say: 'I don't think Lucy shares their politics but the fact they see advantage in this outcome is something to bear in mind.' Supporters of Bridget Phillipson, the Education secretary and Starmerite candidate, have warned that the remaining Corbynistas in the party are lining up behind her rival Lucy Powell. Luke Akehurst, the Durham MP, hit out on social media after Momentum, the pressure group founded by supporters of Mr Corbyn, urged supporters to vote for Ms Powell. The Manchester Central MP, who was sacked from the Labour front bench by Sir Keir Starmer last month, is the current favourite to take the party role vacated by Angela Rayner.The Manchester Central MP, who was sacked from the Labour front bench by Sir Keir Starmer last month, is the current favourite to take the party role vacated by Angela Rayner. She has not been afraid to criticise his leadership during her campaign, `saying that 'things aren't going well' since he won power.In reply Ms Phillipson warned that a Powell win would see the party 'energising our opponents' through disunity. Ms Phillipson has the backing of unions including GMB and Unison, as well as former home secretary Alan Johnson, while Ms Powell has the support of Lord Kinnock – who led the party from 1983 to 1992.
