Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson formally entered the contest to become Labour’s deputy leader on Tuesday, becoming the most senior figure so far to throw her hat into the fast-tracked race to replace Angela Rayner.
Phillipson said she was standing to "unite our great party", pointing to her working-class background in the north-east and her record in government as qualifications for the role. Her entry positions her as the de facto Downing Street candidate for deputy leader and aligns her with the leadership wing of the party, while other contenders and backers represent different internal groupings.
The contest has opened with only a small number of declared candidates. Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, was the first to declare, and Foreign Affairs Committee chair Emily Thornberry has said she is considering a bid. Several senior figures, including Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and former ministers Louise Haigh and Lisa Nandy, have ruled themselves out or are not expected to stand.
Nomination rules set a demanding early hurdle. Candidates must secure nominations from at least 80 Labour MPs — a fifth of the parliamentary party — by 5pm on Thursday to appear on the ballot. Those who clear that threshold must also obtain backing from either 5% of constituency parties or three affiliates, including at least two affiliated trade unions. If they pass those stages, party members will vote in a ballot that opens on October 8 and closes at noon on October 23, with the result due on October 25.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has publicly praised Lucy Powell, a former Cabinet colleague of Phillipson’s, and some commentators have framed the contest as a broader internal contest between supporters of different potential future leaders. Party officials, however, say Sir Keir Starmer is not expected to endorse a candidate explicitly.
Phillipson framed her candidacy around uniting the party and defeating political rivals nationally. "Because make no mistake: we are in a fight. We all know the dangers Reform poses our country," she said in her announcement, adding that her record in the north-east demonstrated she could reach voters while staying true to Labour values.
As a serving Cabinet minister, Phillipson faces the risk of political embarrassment should she fail to secure enough nominations and be beaten by a backbencher. She was kept on in the Cabinet reshuffle but had the skills element of her brief removed last week, a move that some allies say may have been related to preparations for this candidacy.
The race is set to unfold rapidly. Nominations opened on Tuesday, with a hustings scheduled for Wednesday under the accelerated timetable. Labour’s annual conference, which starts on September 28, is expected to be a key stage for candidates to set out competing visions for the party and to try to broaden support among members and constituency parties.
Senior figures within the parliamentary party have begun to indicate preferences on the type of candidate they would like. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said on Times Radio he would "certainly prefer" the next deputy leader to be a woman and said he understood colleagues wanting a deputy from outside London to broaden perspectives. Labour veteran Baroness Harriet Harman also urged that the role be filled by a woman from outside the capital, saying the deputy should be complementary to the leader and capable of galvanising the party.
Some tactical calculations are already visible. Support from regional power-brokers and mayors, trade unions and local party organisations will be crucial if multiple candidates reach the parliamentary threshold. The requirement for affiliate backing — including trade union support — is likely to test the organisational reach of contenders from both the leadership and left wings of the party.
The successful candidate will replace Angela Rayner as deputy leader of the Labour Party but will not assume the title of deputy prime minister; that government post has been assigned to Justice Secretary David Lammy. The outcome of the contest will have implications beyond the formal office, shaping Labour’s internal balance ahead of the next general election and serving as an early indicator of alignments within the party as it approaches conference season.
Labour MPs and party activists now have a very short window to decide whom to back. The party’s fast-tracked timetable leaves little time for prospective candidates to build the broad coalition of parliamentary and grassroots support they will need to reach the ballot and ultimately win the membership vote.