Bell Ribeiro-Addy gets TSSA backing for Labour deputy leader election

Transport and travel union TSSA is backing Bell Ribeiro-Addy in the Labour Party’s current deputy leadership election. It comes as

Labour deputy leadership election: Bell Ribeiro-Addy gets TSSA union backing

The Labour affiliated union believes the contest to replace Angela Rayner should provide for a wide-ranging debate, with all sections of the party represented.

Commenting, TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said:

Bell Ribeiro-Addy has been a strong voice on issues that matter to our members – supporting full implementation of the New Deal for workers and a railway run for people, not profits.

She has also spoken out against welfare cuts and the genocide in Gaza. For all these reasons TSSA endorses Bell, welcomes her participation in the debate and urges Labour MPs to give her backing needed to run.

Notably, Ribeiro-Addy is a member of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East. She voted against Starmer’s whip for the Scottish National Party (SNP) ceasefire motion in November 2023. Ribeiro-Addy was also among the Labour MPs that rebelled against the recent Universal Credit bill that will usher in devastating welfare cuts.

In a statement she made announcing her intention to stand, she said:

Our members and voters are disgusted by what they see nightly on their TV screens of the carnage in Gaza. They are also angry about what they see as the British government’s complicity in genocide, especially the refusal to stop all arms sales to Israel and the RAF flights over Gaza. They also see a willingness to meet Donald Trump’s demands for higher military spending at the cost of public services. People expect compassion and principle: welfare before warfare, to protect rather than cut vital support, and to stand firmly against racism and division.

Unfortunately, the current programme, marked by relentless cuts to welfare, military escalation and refusal to tax the wealthy, is not offering that. After 15 years of failed austerity, we know it does not work. Our country cannot be rebuilt on the same failed foundations.

Not enough nominations

Candidates first need to secure 80 (20%) nominations from the party’s MPs. Then, they will have to win over 5% of local parties or three Labour-affiliated groups, such as trade unions.

However, as it currently stands, Ribeiro-Addy doesn’t have the sufficient number of the nominations she needs to run. Sky News was reporting that as of Wednesday evening, she had 15 nominations, well short of the 80 required.

Former Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and now housing minister Alison McGovern withdrew from the race on Wednesday evening after failing to solicit enough support. And on the morning of Thursday 11 September, former shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry announced  that she was dropping out of the race:

I'm deeply grateful to all the Labour members who have shared their support.

But I have decided to withdraw.

It has been a privilege to take part in this race with such brilliant women.

I will always be committed to this party and do everything I can to make it successful.

— Emily Thornberry (@EmilyThornberry) September 11, 2025

Thornberry had secured just 13 nominations.

Meanwhile, Starmerite and ostensible frontrunner Bridget Phillipson has taken the lion’s share, with 116 nominations so far. Previous leader of the House of Commons Lucy Powell currently has 77 nominations, just three shy of the number needed.

A stitch up to exclude left-leaning hopefuls

As the Canary’s James Wright highlighted, the short time-frame for gathering nominations is a monumental stitch-up to deny remotely left-leaning MPs the opportunity. And notably, he underscored how:

At the 2021 Labour party conference, Starmer succeeded in passing a rule change that doubled the percentage of MP nominations that a deputy leadership hopeful must get in order to run. That percentage is now 20% or a whopping 80 MPs, making it very difficult for left Labour MPs to secure a chance to run. This is four times the number of Constituency Labour Party (CLP) nominations a deputy leadership hopeful may additionally receive, which stands at 5%.

He also pointed out that:

a deputy leadership hopeful doesn’t need any nominations from members if they gain such nominations from at least three Labour affiliates, including at least two unions.

Of course, in Ribeiro-Addy’s case, she now has the backing of at least one Labour-affiliated union. As far as the Canary can currently find, no other unions have come out in support of her or other candidates at current.

However, candidates have until 5pm today (Thursday 11 September) to obtain 80 nominations to pass the first hurdle to stand. Unfortunately, it’s looking unlikely that Ribeiro-Addy will get enough to push her over the line in time.

Featured image via the Canary