Labour’s deputy leadership contest is on the brink of becoming a two-horse race between Bridget Phillipson and Lucy Powell, as the other three candidates scramble for nominations.

The official tally from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) on Wednesday night put Ms Phillipson, the education secretary, ahead with 116 nominations.

Politics Hub: Catch up on The Immigration Debate

Ms Powell, the former Commons leader who was ousted in Sir Keir Starmer’s reshuffle last week, is behind with 77 – just three shy of the 80 needed to make it to the next round.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Paula Barker and Dame Emily Thornberry all had support from 15 or fewer MPs as of Wednesday evening, fuelling speculation they could follow in the footsteps of housing minister Alison McGovern and pull out.

Ms Barker, the MP for Liverpool Wavetree, told Sky News she was “genuinely undecided” and had a lot to consider.

Ms Barker, a former trade union official, has challenged the government on Gaza and welfare cuts and is part of the newly formed soft-left “Mainstream group”.

Her allies are keen for her to stay in the race, with one telling Sky News she “outshone the others by miles” during an online hustings event for MPs, and would be a “real alternative for the membership”.

Her supporters are expected to throw their weight behind Ms Powell if she does drop out, with one saying of the Manchester Central MP: “She is closer to Andy Burnham, and she was just sacked, so those who dislike Morgan McSweeney [the prime minister’s chief of staff] I guess will get behind her.”

However, while describing her as “slightly more left” than Ms Phillipson, they said she is “hardly a socialist”.

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Some MPs want to avoid a race between Ms Powell and Ms Phillipson, believing there is not much difference in what they offer, but others had more praise for the former, calling her performance at the hustings impressive.

One MP said: “Her pitch is that she’s been the shop steward of the parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) in government, but now she’s not in government she can dedicate herself to the role of deputy leader full time without a department to run. She wants to focus on defining our voter coalition and making sure we’re speaking to them.”

They added that Ms Phillipson might be too busy to fulfil the deputy leadership role, especially with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) reform coming down the track “which could be a horror show”.

Ms Phillipson has been making the case to MPs about her experience fighting populism in her Houghton & Sunderland South seat in the North East, where Reform UK is on the rise.

Dr Jeevun Sandher said he was won over by the education secretary following her pitch at the hustings in which she also spoke about the cost of living crisis.

The MP for Loughborough told Sky News: “Bridget was strong, articulate, and very impressive. She was able to communicate the deep thought we need to govern well and win the next election.”

The deputy leadership race was triggered by the resignation of former deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner after she admitted underpaying stamp duty on a flat.

The candidates need 80 backers by 5pm Thursday. As of Wednesday evening’s tally, 235 MPs had made their nominations out of Labour’s 398 MPs.

Ms McGovern pulled out on Wednesday afternoon, saying it was “clear that the momentum of this contest had shifted, and I am not going to progress to the next stage”.

The MP for Birkenhead was rumoured to be Number 10’s preference before it was clear Ms Phillipson – who she has since nominated – would enter the race.

Timeline for the race

Many Labour MPs are keen to see someone who would work constructively with the prime minister to avoid the party becoming more divided.

There are also calls for the deputy leader to be from the north to balance out the number of cabinet ministers who represent London seats – which both Dame Emily and Ms Riberio-Addy do.

If more than one candidate secures 80 nominations by Thursday evening, they will then need to gain backing from either three of Labour’s affiliate organisations, including two trade unions, or 5% of constituency parties.

That process will continue until 27 September, meaning a contested election threatens to overshadow the party’s annual conference that begins in Liverpool the next day.

The successful candidates will then appear on the ballot for a vote of all party members and affiliated party supporters, which will open on 8 October and close on 23 October at 12pm.

The winner will be announced on Saturday 25 October.

Labour’s deputy leadership contest is on the brink of becoming a two-horse race between Bridget Phillipson and Lucy Powell, as the other three candidates scramble for nominations.

The official tally from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) on Wednesday night put Ms Phillipson, the education secretary, ahead with 116 nominations.

Politics Hub: Catch up on The Immigration Debate

Ms Powell, the former Commons leader who was ousted in Sir Keir Starmer’s reshuffle last week, is behind with 77 – just three shy of the 80 needed to make it to the next round.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Paula Barker and Dame Emily Thornberry all had support from 15 or fewer MPs as of Wednesday evening, fuelling speculation they could follow in the footsteps of housing minister Alison McGovern and pull out.

Ms Barker, the MP for Liverpool Wavetree, told Sky News she was “genuinely undecided” and had a lot to consider.

Ms Barker, a former trade union official, has challenged the government on Gaza and welfare cuts and is part of the newly formed soft-left “Mainstream group”.

Her allies are keen for her to stay in the race, with one telling Sky News she “outshone the others by miles” during an online hustings event for MPs, and would be a “real alternative for the membership”.

Her supporters are expected to throw their weight behind Ms Powell if she does drop out, with one saying of the Manchester Central MP: “She is closer to Andy Burnham, and she was just sacked, so those who dislike Morgan McSweeney [the prime minister’s chief of staff] I guess will get behind her.”

However, while describing her as “slightly more left” than Ms Phillipson, they said she is “hardly a socialist”.

Read more politics news:
Who is Peter Mandelson?
How many illegal migrants are in Britain?

Some MPs want to avoid a race between Ms Powell and Ms Phillipson, believing there is not much difference in what they offer, but others had more praise for the former, calling her performance at the hustings impressive.

One MP said: “Her pitch is that she’s been the shop steward of the parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) in government, but now she’s not in government she can dedicate herself to the role of deputy leader full time without a department to run. She wants to focus on defining our voter coalition and making sure we’re speaking to them.”

They added that Ms Phillipson might be too busy to fulfil the deputy leadership role, especially with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) reform coming down the track “which could be a horror show”.

Ms Phillipson has been making the case to MPs about her experience fighting populism in her Houghton & Sunderland South seat in the North East, where Reform UK is on the rise.

Dr Jeevun Sandher said he was won over by the education secretary following her pitch at the hustings in which she also spoke about the cost of living crisis.

The MP for Loughborough told Sky News: “Bridget was strong, articulate, and very impressive. She was able to communicate the deep thought we need to govern well and win the next election.”

The deputy leadership race was triggered by the resignation of former deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner after she admitted underpaying stamp duty on a flat.

The candidates need 80 backers by 5pm Thursday. As of Wednesday evening’s tally, 235 MPs had made their nominations out of Labour’s 398 MPs.

Ms McGovern pulled out on Wednesday afternoon, saying it was “clear that the momentum of this contest had shifted, and I am not going to progress to the next stage”.

The MP for Birkenhead was rumoured to be Number 10’s preference before it was clear Ms Phillipson – who she has since nominated – would enter the race.

Timeline for the race

Many Labour MPs are keen to see someone who would work constructively with the prime minister to avoid the party becoming more divided.

There are also calls for the deputy leader to be from the north to balance out the number of cabinet ministers who represent London seats – which both Dame Emily and Ms Riberio-Addy do.

If more than one candidate secures 80 nominations by Thursday evening, they will then need to gain backing from either three of Labour’s affiliate organisations, including two trade unions, or 5% of constituency parties.

That process will continue until 27 September, meaning a contested election threatens to overshadow the party’s annual conference that begins in Liverpool the next day.

The successful candidates will then appear on the ballot for a vote of all party members and affiliated party supporters, which will open on 8 October and close on 23 October at 12pm.

The winner will be announced on Saturday 25 October.

“I’m incredibly patriotic,” says Ross, “I love our flag.”

He’s pulling a trailer loaded with England flags, otherwise known as the flag of St George, and Union flags, while his friends carry a ladder.

They’re heading out to fly flags from lamp posts in his hometown, Lichfield.

We’re here to spend an evening with them – keen to understand why flags are appearing on streets across England and what people make of it.

As the flags go up, several passing drivers beep and shout their support.

But it isn’t long before a man and woman walk past, visibly annoyed.

“Shameful behaviour,” the woman tells the group.

One of Ross’s group calls back: “Why can’t you be proud?”

“I am proud, but we’re absolutely tripping over from patriotism to an overt display of nationalism,” the man replies.

“There have been many occasions throughout history where the British flag has been adopted by groups that I don’t agree with”.

It’s a tense moment.

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I ask Ross, 27, if the flying of the flags is timed to coincide with concerns about immigration.

“Yes,” he replies. “My personal stance on it is, yes, this is us saying ‘you’re in our country’, right?

“This is what we stand for, you bow to this flag how we do, right, and you shouldn’t be doing illegal things, and for example, raping the women and committing crimes, which we don’t agree with.”

He tells me some of the handful of people he’s with went to the same school as him. But Octavia, the only woman in their group, only met them recently.

“She bumped into us the other day, and now she’s a full-fledged flagger,” Ross says.

Octavia, 27, lifts her jumper to reveal she’s wearing an England flag dress.

“I saw him putting up the flags and I genuinely wondered why,” she says.

“He kind of explained to me, like, we’re protecting people of Britain, we are spreading awareness, that is literally all, and I was really happy to get involved”.

As the next flag is being put up, a man walks past and breaks into song.

“No surrender, no surrender, no surrender to the boats coming over,” he sings.

Ross, filming him, thanks him for his “performance”.

Many opinions but few solutions for debate that crosses dividing lines

Becky Johnson

Social Affairs correspondent

@BeckyJohnsonSky

Over the course of an evening in Lichfield, we struggled to find anyone who didn’t have an opinion on the flags appearing around the town.

Yet we did find people who were reticent to speak on camera, particularly those opposed to the flags being there.

This is a town where around 93% of residents were born in England, according to the census in 2021.

Unlike many British towns and cities, there is little visible evidence of the mass migration this country has experienced in recent decades.

Octavia, the newest recruit to the group of “flaggers” we met, grew up in Leicester, where just under 58% of people were born in England.

After meeting people opposed to the flags in Lichfield, she told me “they’re wealthy, they live in a nice area, they don’t actually have to go through the struggles that everybody else does”.

She then revealed her opposition to migrant hotels is in part because she was once at risk of homelessness and didn’t get state support.

But from what we saw, it would be wrong to conclude that there are obvious dividing lines in this debate.

On both sides, there were people from a range of different backgrounds, young and old.

Some see a display of pure patriotism. To others, it’s blatant nationalism that has to stop.

But in these uneasy times, the removal of any flags has been seized on as a political act that has sparked anger in communities.

A woman sees it all happen and tells us her husband has written to the council to ask for the flags to be removed.

She’s unhappy about how it may make the town feel for some people.

But she doesn’t want to go on camera – or even have her words recorded.

I ask Ross about his political views.

He says he doesn’t belong to any party, but he tells me he supports Tommy Robinson – and had been with him the previous evening.

He got the flags they’re putting up from him.

Further down the street, we meet Bob. He’s just out for dinner. We get talking about the flags.

“It’s not a racist thing just to be wanting to look after your people,” Ross tells him.

Bob agrees, but is concerned about why flags are going up now.

Tap here to see the full line-up for Sky News’ The Immigration Debate

“It’s become quite extreme,” he says. I ask if he thinks the flag is being used as a racist symbol. “100% yeah, I do,” he says.

But an elderly couple over the road completely disagrees with him. “Of course, we support St George’s flag, we’re British,” the woman says.

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“There’s nothing wrong with showing the English flag,” her husband agrees.

It’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t have a view on the flags appearing around the town. We leave Lichfield with a sense that they’re provoking strong feelings on both sides of a very live national debate.