Bridget, Labour Education Secretary and MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, will consult with members and trade unionists every quarter to gather their thoughts and concerns, which will then be relayed to Cabinet. This would give Labour members who are not on the National Executive Committee or the National Policy Forum a greater say in the Government’s priorities.
Bridget Phillipson says: “I want to make members proud to campaign for Labour, proud of the policies on our leaflets and proud of the difference this Government is making to the lives of working people. Only under my deputy leadership will members have their voices heard loud and clear at the Cabinet table. And with these measures, I will unite our party, deliver change and beat Reform to secure the second Labour term we all want to see.”
Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary says: “We are supporting Bridget because she has the experience, commitment and compassion to support low-paid working families and be a strong voice in Government for our members and all workers. Today’s announcement shows how Bridget wants to ensure that our members’ voices are heard at the highest level, and that can only be achieved with a deputy leader who is also in the Cabinet.
“Bridget’s record of delivery is exceptional and we very much welcome her commitment to go further. Usdaw members have long struggled to secure hours of work that fit around childcare, so we welcome Bridget rolling out free breakfast clubs and new nurseries in primary schools, along with doubling free childcare to 30 hours a week.
“At Labour conference, Bridget set out her determination that child poverty will be lower at the end of this parliament than at the start, and to give every child the best start in life. Since then, she backed that up with an urgent call to lift the two-child benefit cap: a Tory policy that’s had a devastating impact on children and increased child poverty.
“There are two great candidates in this race and Usdaw’s national executive council decided to nominate Bridget Phillipson for the role of deputy leader of the Labour Party. Bridget’s principles represent the change that we voted for at the last election, so we are urging our members to vote for Bridget Phillipson.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
For Usdaw press releases visit: www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Bluesky @usdawunion.bsky.social and Twitter/X @UsdawUnion