Manchester MP takes deputy leadership
Lucy Powell has been elected deputy leader of the Labour Party, marking a striking political comeback just weeks after being sacked from the Cabinet by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The Manchester Central MP secured 87,407 votes from party members, defeating Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, who won 73,536. Her victory was driven largely by support from the party’s left, frustrated with what they see as a lack of ambition from Starmer’s government.
Rebellion and renewal
Powell’s return follows a turbulent period for Labour. The government, elected in a landslide just over a year ago, has faced sluggish economic growth, internal rebellions over welfare reform, and growing pressure from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
In her victory speech, Powell urged the leadership to “be bold” and warned that Labour would not win “by trying to out-Reform Reform,” but by building a “broad progressive consensus.”
She also called for Starmer to “listen to members” rather than rely on what she described as “command and control” politics from the top.
Tension at the top
Starmer congratulated Powell, calling her a “proud defender of Labour values,” but the win is being seen as a challenge to his authority.
The new deputy leader was dismissed from Cabinet last month, reportedly after criticising the government’s handling of welfare cuts. Powell later suggested her opposition to those policies and her defence of MPs who rebelled – cost her the post.
Despite her return to prominence, Powell is not expected to rejoin the Cabinet, though she will now sit on Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee, giving her significant sway over party direction.
Conservatives seize on rift
Kevin Hollinrake, chairman of the Conservative Party, mocked the outcome, saying: “Weak Keir Starmer has had the candidate he didn’t want imposed on him by Labour members.”
Powell’s victory comes just days after Labour suffered a shock by-election defeat in Caerphilly to Plaid Cymru – a reminder of the challenges facing the party ahead of next May’s Welsh elections and a difficult Budget expected to include tax rises to plug a £20-30 billion fiscal gap.
For Starmer, Powell’s resurgence may prove both a unifying test and a warning – that Labour’s grassroots want the government to start delivering on its promise of real change.
