By Sophie Wingate, Pa Deputy Political Editor
Copyright yahoo
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and former Commons leader Lucy Powell will fight it out for Labour’s deputy leadership after both secured enough support to make it through to the second round of the contest.
Backbencher Bell Ribeiro-Addy was knocked out of the race after she failed to get the 80 nominations from Labour MPs required to advance to the next stage.
Ms Phillipson picked up 175 nominations, Ms Powell 117 and Ms Ribeiro-Addy 24, according to the final tally after Thursday’s 5pm deadline.
The three other MPs who had initially thrown their hat in the ring to succeed Angela Rayner – who quit after a row over her tax affairs – struggled to get anywhere near the threshold and dropped out before nominations closed.
They were Commons Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Dame Emily Thornberry, backbencher Paula Barker and housing minister Alison McGovern.
The two remaining candidates will now have to secure the support of 5% of constituency parties or at least three affiliates – including at least two affiliated trade unions.
The ballot for candidates who clear the nomination hurdles will open on October 8 and close at noon on October 23, with the result announced on October 25.
The prospect of a contested election threatens to overshadow Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool at the end of September, with some seeing it as a referendum on the Prime Minister’s leadership.
But neither Ms Phillipson, a Cabinet minister, nor Ms Powell has so far been openly critical of Sir Keir Starmer, while other candidates had explicitly called for a change of direction.
