Phillips quits Labour leadership contest
Birmingham MP departs contest saying it is now too polarised between hard Left and moderate factions
Jess Phillips has pulled out of the Labour leadership contest after allies conceded that she could not secure enough support in an “increasingly polarised” contest between moderates and the hard Left. The Birmingham Yardley MP yesterday became the second candidate to exit the contest, acknowledging that she could not unite the party’s warring factions and lead it to power. Ms Phillips appeared to take a parting swipe at the hard-left favourite Rebecca Long-bailey.
JESS PHILLIPS has pulled out of the Labour leadership contest after allies conceded that she could not secure enough support in an “increasingly polarised” contest between moderates and the hard Left.
The Birmingham Yardley MP yesterday became the second candidate to exit the contest, acknowledging that she could not unite the party’s warring factions and lead it back to power.
Ms Phillips, a vocal critic of Jeremy Corbyn, also appeared to take a parting swipe at the hard-left favourite Rebecca Long-bailey, warning that if Labour was to recover it needed to start speaking “to the country on their terms, not just on ours”.
Her decision comes a day after she admitted her performance at the first membership hustings had been “awful”, with some members accusing her of being too negative and critical of her rivals.
Last night, a source close to the 38-year-old told The Daily Telegraph that she had dropped out after concluding that her potential supporters would flock to the moderate frontrunner Sir Keir Starmer as the “best option” to defeat Ms Long-bailey.
Meanwhile, outsider Lisa Nandy last night appeared to be staging a comeback as she secured an endorsement from the GMB union, one of Labour’s biggest backers.
The decision suggests a major split within the trade union movement, with Unison already declaring for Sir Keir and Unite, run by hard-left leader Len Mccluskey, expected to opt for Ms Long-bailey in the coming days.
The Telegraph understands that Aslef, the train drivers’ union, is also split between the two frontrunners, with its general secretary Mick Whelan viewing Sir Keir as a “winner” while its executive favours Ms Long-bailey.
With Sir Keir already through, Ms Nandy now needs to secure the backing of just one of 20 groups affiliated to Labour to join him.
Meanwhile, Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, is understood to be canvassing the smaller trade unions for support, but is unlikely to receive the two endorsements needed to qualify. Unless she secures the backing of 33 constituency Labour parties, she is likely to become the third casualty of the contest.
Allies close to Ms Phillips said they expected her supporters to back Sir Keir. A friend said: “I think it’s more and more apparent that the debate is becoming increasingly polarised between Keir and Rebecca.
“Both sides fear the other. People who were likely to support Jess fear that Becky will win and they see the best option as going for Keir.” Separately, Ms Long-bailey continued her pitch to unite the party’s hard Left as she promised to establish compulsory open selections for Labour candidates if elected leader, including for sitting MPS.
Ms Long-bailey spoke at a venue in Hackney South and Shoreditch, a Labour stronghold, in a move that will reinforce the party’s image as being overly London-focused.
The shadow business secretary claimed that “being an MP or elected representative is a privilege that must be earned”.