UNITE refused to nominate any candidate for Labour deputy leader today as the union said that “neither represents the change required.”

The union argued that “different economic choices are required now” and “workers and communities have had enough” as it declined to back either Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson or her rival Lucy Powell for the top job.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Britain needs change, not more of the same. Workers are leaving labour in droves and tinkering will not stem the tide.

“Unfortunately, this election does not offer the alternative that Britain needs. For everyday people, it is irrelevant.

“Labour must deliver real change. We need huge investment into our crumbling infrastructure and our public services, a pay rise for British workers and end to the private profiteering that helps drive inflation.

“Until the government makes different choices, they will continue to haemorrhage support.”

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) meanwhile backed the former Commons leader Ms Powell for the role “to send a clear message that the leadership must change direction” while Unison and GMB both backed Ms Phillipson.

FBU general secretary Steve Wright said: “Austerity and authoritarianism are a road to nowhere but misery for working people. If Labour does not deliver the change it promised, this will be a one term government.

“The FBU supports Lucy Powell’s call to scrap the two-child benefit cap, as well as her support for the full delivery of the Employment Rights Bill. We urge her, and all Labour MPs, to go further — to end austerity and introduce a wealth tax.”

Unison’s Labour Link committee chairwoman Linda Hobson said that the Education Secretary “will be a strong, persuasive and passionate voice at the top of the party to help steer the change that people voted for.”

GMB general secretary Gary Smith noted that Ms Phillipson has been a GMB member for 20 years and that Labour’s pledge to reinstate the School Support Staff Negotiating Body “is vital in delivering a fairer playing field of wages and qualifications for people who have been undervalued for far too long.”

Ms Phillipson’s campaign had already been endorsed by the Musicians Union, the Community union and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).

The Communication Workers Union has backed Ms Powell, who has also secured the backing from her longtime ally, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, as well as ministers including Ed Miliband and Lisa Nandy, and the affiliates group Disability Labour.