The starting gun has been fired in the race to replace Angela Rayner as deputy Labour leader.

Rayner resigned from the role – as well as her government jobs of housing secretary and deputy prime minister – after failing to pay enough tax when buying a flat.

Candidates now have until Thursday evening to win the backing of at least 80 Labour MPs, and will then need support from either 5% of local parties or three Labour-affiliated groups, including two unions.

The winner will then be decided in a vote of party members, with an announcement due on 25 October.

Phillipson is the only cabinet minister on the list so far, pledging to unite the party and take on Reform UK. As education secretary, she would be more supportive of the government than other candidates.

The Labour MP for Houghton and Sunderland South since 2010, Phillipson has highlighted her background and her journey from growing up in a council house, to taking on the highest ministerial ranks of government.

Describing herself as a “proud working class woman from the north east”, Phillipson said that with her help Labour could defeat Nigel Farage’s party while “staying true” to its values of equality, fairness and social justice.

“With me as Deputy Leader we will beat them right across the country and unite to deliver the opportunity that working people across this great country deserve,” Phillipson said.

Other cabinet ministers had been reluctant to stand, fearing the possibility of defeat by a backbencher or somebody more junior.

She is almost certain to attract the support of the 80 MPs required by Thursday.

South London MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy was the first candidate to declare she would stand.

A committed left-winger, Ribeiro-Addy is a close ally of veteran MP Diane Abbott and is being backed by the Socialist Campaign Group, a left-leaning caucus of the party.

Ribeiro-Addy describes herself as a socialist, feminist, anti-racist and trade unionist in her X bio.

It is unlikely she will get anywhere near enough supporters, but she is using her moment in the spotlight to urge the government to change course.

She told the BBC Labour’s deputy leader should be free to criticise government policy.

Ribeiro-Addy said Labour needed a debate about “what’s gone wrong” in its first year in power and warned the party would not be able to “attract or even to retain” voters without a change in direction.

Backed by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, Lucy Powell has been the MP for Manchester Central since 2010.

She announced she was standing as a candidate on Tuesday, saying she would aim to bring together “all parts of the party, and uniting our broad voter coalition”.

She added that in her time in government she had “championed our backbenchers, made sure their voices were heard, and sought to unite our team”.

Until recently she was leader of the House of Commons, responsible for organising government business in the chamber, as well as modernising Parliament and improving working conditions for MPs and staff.

However, she was sacked from that role in the recent reshuffle.

Dame Emily Thornberry has confirmed she is running for the role of deputy leader.

Writing on X, Thornberry said: “We fought hard for a Labour government. But we’ve made mistakes and must listen. Welfare. Gaza. Wealth tax. Changes to come on SEND. I will be a voice for the membership, unions, PLP, and our constituents – not just nod along.”

She held a number of frontbench roles in opposition, including shadow foreign secretary under former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and shadow international trade secretary and shadow attorney general under Sir Keir.

Dame Emily was open about her surprise and disappointment at being left out of the prime minister’s cabinet, following last year’s general election victory.

Instead, she took up the role of chairwoman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, where she is tasked with holding the government to account on its foreign policy.

She’s also been critical of the government in other areas, recently telling the BBC Labour can’t afford to keep making mistakes with the party facing a threat from Reform UK, arguing it needs to listen to the public more.

However, representing the London seat of Islington South and Finsbury could harm her chances in the eyes of those who want a deputy who counters what they see as Labour’s London-dominated leadership.

Housing Minister Alison McGovern has now confirmed she is standing.

In her statement she said she promised to take on what she calls the “huge threat from the dark forces of right-wing populism” by fighting for “the right to a home, a job and to feel part of this country”.

As MP for Birkenhead on the Wirral – an area where she grew up – McGovern ticks the boxes of those calling for the next deputy leader to be a woman who can connect with voters in the north of England.

First elected in 2010, she was previously a parliamentary aide to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and is seen as on the right of the party.

McGovern is also a former chairwoman of Progress, a Labour organisation founded to support Tony Blair’s leadership.

Following Labour’s election victory last year, she was made a minister in the Department for Work and Pensions but was moved to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in the recent reshuffle.

Paula Barker has been the MP for Liverpool Wavertree since 2019, and confirmed she was in the running to BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme on Tuesday.

Asked if she had the 80 nominations needed to get through to the next stage, Barker said: “We’re working on numbers now, our numbers are looking healthy.”

A former Unison trade union official, Barker also quit Labour’s front bench as shadow devolution minister over the party’s stance on Gaza in November 2023.

Having defied the leadership in order to vote for the government to back an immediate ceasefire, it’s unlikely she’d be seen as a conciliatory candidate by Sir Keir Starmer.

A former shadow housing minister, she still sits on the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ending Homelessness as co-chair, as well as being a member of Westminster’s Standards and Privileges Committees.

Shabana Mahmood, who was promoted from justice secretary to home secretary in last week’s reshuffle, has ruled herself out of the race, as has her cabinet colleague, Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

Tooting MP Rosena Allin-Khan, who works as an NHS doctor, has also said she would not put herself forward, nor is former transport secretary Louise Haigh.

Backbench MP Barry Gardiner, a former member of Corbyn’s shadow cabinet who had been floated by some on the left of the party as a potential candidate, has also said he will not stand.

David Lammy will remain Sir Keir’s deputy prime minister, regardless of who wins.