Only three candidates remain in the race for Labour deputy leadership: Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary and the government’s preferred candidate; Lucy Powell, the recently sacked leader of the House of Commons; and Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the last candidate standing from the Labour left. But in reality, this is a two-horse race. Last night Phillipson swept past the 80 nominations needed to get on the ballot, receiving the backing of 116 MPs. Powell is almost there on 77. Ribeiro-Addy currently has 15, and though she is likely to pick up some of her fellow left-wing candidate Paula Barker’s nominations, the chances of her successfully making it onto the ballot paper are extremely slim.
This has been an expedited race. It was triggered by Angela Rayner’s resignation on Friday, after she was found to have breached the government’s code of ethics. Nominations officially close at 5pm today, when the two frontrunners will likely be officially confirmed. Candidates spent the day yesterday drumming up support among their parliamentary colleagues. The atrium of Portcullis House (PCH) was full of whispered negotiations. Candidates could be seen taking colleagues for coffee or scheming with sympathetic fellow MPs. Emily Thornberry – who has now dropped out of the race – spent most of the day in and out of the Despatch Box café, canvassing fellow MPs. Ribeiro-Addy enjoyed lunch with her Socialist Campaign Group colleagues, Richard Burgon and Imran Hussain, while Powell shared a joke with Wes Streeting in the corridor between the Palace of Westminster and PCH.
Yesterday morning there were six candidates, including Local Government Minister Alison McGovern and left-wing MP Paula Barker. McGovern had been very coy about her intentions in a fringe event at the Trades Union Congress on Monday. She was, like Phillipson, a candidate of the Labour right, and is the chair of Progressive Britain, a group founded in 1996 to support Tony Blair. She is close to Gordon Brown, having been appointed his parliamentary private secretary (PPS) in 2010. Some had speculated that she – or Phillipson – could be put forward as the government’s preferred choice. But after No 10 selected Phillipson, McGovern is rumoured to have gone rogue, throwing her hat into the ring regardless. Some loyalist MPs still considered backing McGovern for her election-winning credentials. As one put it to me, “Ally is a fighter”. This rattled No 10. Several MPs described unprecedentedly aggressive encouragement to support Phillipson, with some PPSs worrying that they might lose their jobs if they chose to support anyone else. McGovern dropped out just after 4.30pm, throwing her weight behind Phillipson.
That Powell has done so well is also worrying for No 10. The former leader of the House, Powell was sacked by Keir Starmer on Friday. Though she comes fresh from government, she is now widely seen to be the favoured candidate of the soft left. She has garnered the support of Andy Burnham, who, though he is not in parliament, is a clear challenger to Starmer. As of last night, Powell had won 77 nominations. But after Barker and Thornberry withdrew this morning, many of their supporters confirmed their intention to switch support to Powell. It is likely that, when final nominations are officially announced at 7pm, the Manchester MP will be well over the line to get onto the ballot paper. This is certainly not what No 10 had hoped for. The oncoming head-to-head between Powell and Phillipson is already being described by some MPs as a “proxy war between Keir and Andy Burnham”. Many northern MPs have piled in behind her.
Last night, all candidates were invited to Labour HQ for a hustings which Labour MPs attended online after pre-submitting questions. None of the five candidates still in the race at the time were allowed to give opening speeches, a factor which left one or two of the hopefuls feeling slightly disgruntled. Meg Hillier kickstarted proceedings, asking all candidates for their 30-second pitch to the electorate. Powell ended her answer with an echo of Corbynism, telling MPs that Labour is “for the many, not the few”. Ribeiro-Addy made clear that things need to change in order for the party to make any progress: “We must accept where we’ve got it wrong,” she said, “we must understand where we face real challenges over welfare, and because we haven’t listened on Gaza.” Phillipson told attendees her deputy leadership would mean more popular policies with voters and members. By the end, Thornberry and Barker were already briefing their intention to drop out in the morning. But Ribeiro-Addy has remained.
This has already been a revealing contest. That Ribeiro-Addy has remained is indicative of how frustrated some members of the left are to have not been given a fair chance. And No 10’s tactic of using aggression to drum up support shows how worried they are about the nature and outcome of this election. After the acrimonious sacking of Peter Mandelson this morning, following 24 hours of excruciating equivocation from the Prime Minister, the government is on the back foot. Many MPs are pissed off and embarrassed by this extraordinarily sluggish decision-making from the top of government. It is not just the potential that Burnham could be the party’s saviour that could push MPs and members to go against the government. There is growing anger over the perceived inadequacy of the leadership – and it could force Labour MPs to begin to agitate for regime change.
[See more: Bridget Phillipson is the last, best hope of the Labour right]
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