By Chris Slater,Sophie Wingate

Copyright manchestereveningnews

Manchester MP Lucy Powell will fight it out with a cabinet minister in a bid to become the new Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. Former frontbencher Ms Powell has earned enough nominations to make it through to the next round of the contest, it was confirmed tonight. The Manchester Central MP will now go head-to-head with the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson for the role. 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. Sign up to the MEN Politics newsletter Due North here 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. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE 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. Manchester-born Ms Powell, who was sacked by Sir Keir Starmer as leader of the Commons, said she had been given ‘much encouragement’ when she announced she would stand earlier this week. In a statement issued tonight (Thursday), she said: “I’m grateful to all my colleagues who have nominated me for Deputy Leader. “This is not a contest I expected nor any of us wanted but we must use it to focus on how the new deputy leader can be a bridge for all parts of our movement and help the government deliver the progressive change the country needs. “I am Labour through and through. I will always fight for our Party, our values and our traditions. At a time when there are forces trying to spread division and hatred, Labour must be the voice of unity and hope. “I look forward to speaking to as many members, activists and supporters as possible to make the case about the kind of full-time Deputy Leader I would be; laser focussed on connecting with our communities through our MPs, elected representatives and members fighting for the change our country needs.” Ms Phillipson said she wanted to ‘unite our party and our movement, deliver the change our country needs and beat Reform.’ “Labour members want hope for the future, not grievance and division. Now is the time to come together so we can unite to win again, so we can deliver more, looking forward and outward to change Britain for good” she added. 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.