Overview

• Ballots for members and affiliated supporters open today and close at noon on 23 October, with results due on 25 October.
• Powell told supporters she will not sugarcoat the party’s problems, vowing to challenge No 10 “groupthink” and help Labour reclaim the political agenda.
• She rejected attempts to “out‑Reform” Reform UK, said the deputy should prevent repeats of the benefit‑cuts U‑turn, and called lifting the two‑child benefit cap a priority.
• Phillipson highlighted her record on child poverty and pledged to deliver the new deal for working people in full, saying she would give members a voice from the cabinet table and warned that choosing her rival could destabilise the party.
• Phillipson has secured major union endorsements from Unison and GMB, while Powell is running as a members’ champion after being removed from the Commons leadership in the September reshuffle.