Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has declared that she will stand in the contest to replace Angela Rayner as deputy leader.
After speculation over who Sir Keir Starmer’s preferred candidate would be, Ms Phillipson has emerged as the leadership’s choice and should easily get the 80 MPs needed to nominate her.
Many had been arguing that after Ms Rayner’s departure over her tax affairs, the party needs a non-London MP and a woman to balance out Sir Keir. Ms Phillipson represents Houghton and Sunderland South.
Ms Phillipson will have the perfect opportunity to launch her campaign with the keynote speech at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) gathering in Brighton today.
She will face an audience of delegates who are seeking reassurances about government policy following a reshuffle many there describe as “a right-wing coup”.
Former shadow cabinet minister Emily Thornberry also announced she was running, saying she would speak out and “not just nod along” with the party leadership.
She was controversially not appointed in Keir Starmer’s first cabinet and said: “We fought hard for a Labour government. But we’ve made mistakes and must listen.”
She listed among her top issues Gaza and welfare, two issues expected to be popular among Labour voters, as well as a wealth tax and changes to special educational needs (SEND) which are expected to include cuts.
She insisted she would be a “voice for the membership, unions, PLP, and our constituents – not just nod along”.
Other early contenders also seeking the 80 MPs to nominate them by 11 September are Clapham and Brixton Hill MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy from the left of the party, while Liverpool MP Paula Barker, from the left of the party, is thought to be considering a run.
Former Commons leader Lucy Powell, sacked in the recent ministerial reshuffle, is also understood to be hoping to run.
However, others have ruled themselves out, including former transport secretary Louise Haigh, who had been a popular alternative from outside the leadership.
In a statement, Ms Phillipson said: “Today I am putting myself forward as a candidate for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party, to unite our great party and deliver for working people.”
Leaning on her working-class credentials, she went on: “I am a proud working-class woman from the northeast. I have come from a single-parent family on a tough council street, all the way to the cabinet, determined to deliver better life chances for young people growing up in our country.”
Ms Phillipson has been the face of one of the government’s more left-wing policies, pushing through the decision to add VAT on to private school fees to pay for 6,000 more teachers in state schools.
She said: “I’ve taken on powerful vested interests in the education sector – and even as they threw everything at me, I have never taken a backwards step. I will bring that same determination to every battle ahead of us.
“Because make no mistake: we are in a fight. We all know the dangers Reform poses to our country.”
She added: “But not only am I ready for it, I’ve proven we can do it. I’ve shown we can beat Farage in the northeast, while staying true to the Labour Party’s values of equality, fairness and social justice.
“With me as deputy leader, we will beat them right across the country and unite to deliver the opportunity that working people across this great country deserve.”
She already appears to have the backing of health secretary Wes Streeting, who stated his preference for “a northern woman”.
He told Times Radio: “I think without being disrespectful to some brilliant women in London who are standing like Emily Thornberry, I’ve got a lot of respect for, I can well understand why lots of my colleagues are saying we should have a deputy leader from outside London to broaden perspectives, broaden the base.”
