Red Wall Group Backs Northern Woman For Deputy Labour Leadership
3 min read
The Red Wall Group of Labour MPs has called for a northern woman to be the party's new deputy leader.
The caucus, led by Labour MP Jo White, on Wednesday held a hustings for the candidates hoping to replace Angela Rayner, who resigned last week after being found to have breached the ministerial code over unpaid stamp duty.
In a statement today, the group, which is comprised of MPs representing northern and Midlands seats, said it would not collectively endorse a specific candidate.
However, it said the next Labour deputy leader should be a "northern woman who has the ability and capacity to act as a strong voice for our areas".
White, MP for Bassetlaw, plans to endorse Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, while former Commons leader Lucy Powell received support from most MPs in the room, PoliticsHome understands. Both are northern women, with Phillipson representing a seat in the northeast and Powell coming from Manchester.
Later on Wednesday, another northern woman candidate, minister Alison McGovern, said that she was withdrawing from the race, saying in a statement that "the momentum of this contest has shifted".
Her decision to pull out leaves Paula Barker, a Liverpool MP, and Emily Thornberry and Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who are both from London.
The Red Wall Group statement said: "We agreed that the next Deputy leader should live and breathe the values of our constituents in left behind places like ours.
"This is essential for a Labour government to meet the challenges that it will face at the next general election.
"The Red Wall Group of Labour MPs therefore strongly believe our next Deputy leader should be a northern woman who has the ability and capacity to act as a strong voice for our areas."
As of Tuesday evening, Phillipson was in the lead with 44 MP nominations, with Powell on 35. Ribeiro-Addy was third on 8, with Thornberry (7), Barker (3) and McGovern (2) also far behind. An updated tally is set to be published by the party on Wednesday night.
Candidates must secure 80 nominations from Labour MPs by Thursday at 5pm to continue in the election.
To secure a place on the ballot paper, those running will also need to be nominated in the second stage of the contest by either five per cent of local parties or three affiliates, including two trade unions.
If there is still more than one candidate in the running after the first two stages, ending Saturday 27 September, the names will then be put to members in a preferential ballot. The result will be announced on Saturday 25 October.
