Lucy Powell Elected Labour Deputy Leader

The former Cabinet minister won the position on Saturday, defeating Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and potentially presenting challenges for Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Powell, the MP for Manchester Central, received 87,407 votes (54 percent), compared with Phillipson’s 73,536 (46 percent).

The contest followed Angela Rayner’s resignation as deputy leader last month over a tax dispute. Rayner had served as Starmer’s deputy since he became Labour leader in 2020.

Powell’s victory marks a return to prominence after she was removed as Leader of the House of Commons in the reshuffle prompted by Rayner’s departure from government. Remaining on the backbenches, Powell will be free to express views independently of government policy.

She has already argued that Starmer’s government must communicate its values more clearly, including by scrapping a controversial cap on social security payments for families with two or more children. Powell described the contest as a “course correction” after a tumultuous first year in power for Starmer, which left members “frustrated.”

Phillipson, who has served as education secretary since Labour took office, was widely seen as No. 10’s preferred candidate.

A Labour MP supporting Phillipson, speaking anonymously, suggested Powell’s impact would depend on the government’s response. They noted there is a “risk” Powell will be more rebellious if No. 10 “freeze her out,” recommending Starmer’s team “bind her to some kind of collective responsibility” with a role such as party chair.

“I think she will want to work with Keir, but I think she will, inevitably, try to be a kind of outlier; she might not always sign up to the line or take the party official line,” predicted a Labour official.

“I think if she doesn’t really tie into the job of government, I think we’ll have a massive problem where she is the outlier, the person with the loudest voice in opposition to some of the difficult decisions the government’s making,” the same official added.

A second Labour MP, critical of Starmer’s operation and a Powell supporter, said:

“She now has a mandate for trying to get the penny to drop that things can’t go on as they have been with some around Keir.”