Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell has become one of five candidates who have so far announced they are standing to contest the Labour deputy leadership election
Powell who was sacked from the cabinet last week said in a statement that saying her politics was rooted in “understanding of people’s everyday hopes and fears”, and that she had “championed our backbenchers”
She has been backed by fellow demoted Greater Manchester MP Jim McMahon in her bid
She joins Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and MP for Islington South and Finsbury Emily Thornberry,Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson so far the only member of the Cabinet to throw her hat into the ring and Clapham and Brixton Hill MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy
Later this afternoon Alison McGovern became the 5th to join deputy leadership contest.
The Birkenhead MP and Local Government minister says she wants to fight the “dark forces of right-wing populism”.
“I believe I can shape our story, communicating our values in a way that resonates across the Labour family and with the public,”
