Sunderland MP's honour at earning right to stand unopposed for Labour Party

Bridget Phillipson will stand unopposed as the Labour candidate for the Houghton and Sunderland South constituency when the nation next goes to the polls.

As with all sitting Labour MPs, Ms Phillipson has had to take part in a trigger ballot to determine whether other candidates could challenge her for the right to contest the seat.

MPs need to gain the support of around two-thirds of local wards and affiliated branches within their constituency.

Labour confirmed at the weekend that Ms Phillipson and neighbouring Sunderland Central MP Julie Elliott had been re-selected by the party.

Now Ms Phillipson has spoken about how humbled she is to have “received the unanimous support of all local Labour branches”.

She said: "It’s an honour to have been re-selected by Houghton and Sunderland South Labour Party to fight the next General Election.

“Over the last nine years, it’s been a privilege to represent the area I love.

“I am humbled to have received the unanimous support of all local Labour branches, and I would like to thank members for putting their trust in me once again.

“I promise all my constituents that I will do everything I can to keep fighting for them and our community in Parliament."

First elected in 2010, Ms Phillipson retained her seat at the last General Election in 2017 with a majority of 12,341.

This was slightly down by 597 votes from her 12,938 winning margin in 2015.