As party members prepare to choose between Bridget Phillipson and Lucy Powell, the pair answer questions on wealth taxes, Brexit, the climate crisis and the far right
Stephen Heinson, Cardiff
Bridget Phillipson: I wouldn’t be here without Labour governments. They spurred me on my journey from a tough council street in the north-east all the way to the cabinet. We had no heating upstairs when I was growing up, and we struggled with damp. But that story’s not unique: it’s shared by so many working people across Britain.
That’s why I have been fighting for changes that will make a difference to working families. Such as reviving Sure Start for a new generation, funding childcare from nine months old, rolling out free breakfast clubs, expanding free school meals for half a million more children and capping the branded items schools can require. Together these changes save working-class families thousands of pounds.
As co-chair of the Child Poverty Taskforce, I am clear everything is on the table, including removing the two-child limit. As deputy leader I would continue fighting for policies that change the lives of working people: investment in public services, ensuring the full delivery of our employment rights bill so people get fair pay for a fair day’s work – change that makes Labour members proud of this government, proud to campaign, proud to win again.
