Bridget Phillipson and Lucy Powell are going head-to-head.

The gloves are off in the fight to become the next deputy Labour leader.

Party members have until noon next Thursday to vote for either education secretary Bridget Phillipson or former Commons leader Lucy Powell.

If the bookies are right, the race already looks to be all over bar the shouting, with Powell the heavy odds-on favourite to be announced as the winner on October 25.

That might explain why Phillipson delivered her strongest criticism of Powell yet when speaking to HuffPost UK this week – warning that electing her rival will cost Labour the next election.

Throughout the campaign, Phillipson has emphasised the fact that as a cabinet minister – unlike her sacked rival – she will be able to take Labour members’ concerns directly to the heart of government.

“I’m standing to unite the party, to be that campaigning voice at the cabinet table,” she said. ”As deputy leader I’d have a voice at the cabinet table and take the views of our members there and get things done.”

She added: “There is a risk from having a deputy leader outside government.

“We can’t afford to gift our opponents any advantage. We need to be united to win elections. The only way we’ll be re-elected is by standing together.

“Sadly we’ve already seen the risks that can come from airing some of our dirty linen in public. We need to be focused on getting our message across to the public.

“I’ll be in a much stronger position to get things done rather than throwing rocks from outside.”

Powell told HuffPost UK it was “ludicrous” to suggest that she would split the party, and expressed her disappointment at the tactics being employed by........

© HuffPost