Labour’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), will hold talks on Monday to draw up plans for a deputy leadership election as MPs consider whether to enter the race to replace Angela Rayner after she resigned from Government last week.
Jess Phillips, the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley and former shadow minister, touted as a possible candidate for the party’s deputy leadership, has told The i Paper she will not be standing, citing personal reasons.
Here The i Paper looks at which of the party’s MPs are expected to run.
The former Foreign Secretary, who was appointed to the roles of Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister in the Starmer’s Cabinet reshuffle, is thought to be in the running for the role.
But senior Labour MPs have also called for the next deputy leader to be a female member of the party.
Baroness Harriet Harman told the BBC Radio’s Today programme on Monday: “I think that, in terms of extending the breadth of the leadership, it probably needs to be somebody from outside London and it definitely needs to be a woman.
“I don’t think we can have a male Prime Minister, a man as deputy prime minister and a male deputy leader of the party.
“We need somebody who is not a counterpoint to the leader, but is complementary to the leader, will broaden the reach of the leader and galvanise the party.”
Analysis: The new Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary would be a popular unity choice among MPs – neither Blairite nor left-wing, he could also make a strong argument for continuity – carrying on the dual DPM and deputy leader role that his predecessor Angela Rayner did inside and outside of Cabinet. But some MPs are calling for the deputy leader to represent a northern or Midlands seat, given that Lammy, like Starmer, has a London constituency.
Dame Emily Thornberry
Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Dame Emily Thornberry became the first high-profile figure to announce she was thinking about a bid on Sunday.
The Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury has been a member of parliament continuously since 2005. She also chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee and held various senior roles in the shadow cabinet when Labour was in opposition.
Speaking about entering the deputy leader race, she said: “I’m thinking about it … it’s really a question of what can I bring to it.”
Analysis: Thornberry would be one of the greater threats to Starmer as deputy leader – having already criticised the Prime Minister for failing to do enough to stand up to Nigel Farage, and being passed over for a Cabinet role when Labour came into government. She would pick up support from the left of the party, and would be likely to pitch herself as a champion of the Labour grassroots and backbench MPs. She may not reach the 80 MPs nominations needed, however, if the PLP wants to choose an MP from outside of London to counterbalance the PM and deputy prime minister.
The former Transport Secretary, who quit the role after it was revealed she had a fraud conviction, is widely considered to be a possible runner for the deputy leadership role.
But a Haigh ally told PoliticsHome she is not planning to run because not enough time has passed since she resigned from Cabinet.
Analysis: Haigh also has reason to be critical of Starmer, with allies believing the Prime Minister did not defend her sufficiently over her resignation from Cabinet last year. She would be a strong candidate among left-wing MPs as well as unions and constituency parties. There are reports that she does not want to run, but could be persuaded to stand by supporters.
Lucy Powell
Lucy Powell, the MP for Manchester Central, was stripped her role as Leader of the Commons in the reshuffle. She said it was “an honour” to serve in the first Labour government in 15 years.
Powell is close to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who named her, along with Haigh, as his top picks to take the deputy leader job. Powell, like Haigh, is an MP in northern England and as such would held counter the “London-centricity” under Starmer’s leadership, Burnham said.
Analysis: Given she has just been sacked by Starmer in last week’s reshuffle, Powell would also be seen as a threat to the PM and would likely use her deputy leader position to challenge the government over issues like welfare and the cost of living. Unlike Thornberry, she is from a northern constituency so would fit that bill.
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