Bridget Phillipson (Labour) has announced her candidacy for Labour's deputy leadership, pledging to unite the party and take on Reform UK.
The Education Secretary made her bid public on Tuesday morning, becoming the second MP to enter the race following Angela Rayner's (Labour) resignation last week over her tax affairs.
Phillipson described herself as "a proud working-class woman from the North East" who had risen from "a single-parent family on a tough council street" to the Cabinet table.
She pledged to bring the same determination she had shown in taking on "powerful vested interests in the education sector" to future political battles, stating she had "never taken a backwards step".
She said: “Because make no mistake: we are in a fight. We all know the dangers Reform poses to our country.
“But not only am I ready for it: I’ve proven we can do it. I’ve shown we can beat Farage in the North East while staying true to the Labour Party’s values of equality, fairness and social justice.”
The deputy leadership contest has faced accusations of being orchestrated as a "stitch-up" due to its compressed nomination period.
Candidates have until 5pm on Thursday to secure backing from 80 MPs to reach the next round, with nominations having opened on Tuesday.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour), who announced her candidacy on Monday evening, described the timeline as "unfair".
Speaking to the BBC's Today programme, she said Labour needed a debate about “what’s gone wrong” in its first year in power and warned the party would not be able to “attract or even to retain” voters without a change in direction.
Speaking to Times Radio on Tuesday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he would “certainly prefer” the next deputy leader to be a woman.
He added: “Without being disrespectful to some brilliant women in London who are standing, like Emily Thornberry, who I’ve got lots 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.”
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
