Lucy Powell, a former minister who was sacked by Prime Minister Keir Starmer just months ago, has defeated the Cabinet minister Bridget Phillipson in the race to become the Labour Party’s new deputy leader.
Her victory is being widely interpreted as a clear signal from the party’s membership for a change in direction amid growing unhappiness with the current government.
Powell, who has long been seen as a challenger to the party’s status quo, was viewed by many as the “change” candidate in the contest. Her win now places a prominent and often critical voice at the very heart of the Labour leadership.
A promise of ‘bold, progressive’ policies
Seen as sitting on the party’s “soft left,” Powell’s politics were shaped by growing up in Manchester under the government of Margaret Thatcher.
Launching her leadership bid, she promised to urge the prime minister to pursue “bold policies, rooted in progressive Labour values.”
During her campaign, she was openly critical of what she termed “unforced errors” by the government on issues like welfare and the winter fuel payment.
She also warned that many Labour members feel “disconnected” from the current leadership, a sentiment that her victory now appears to confirm.
A history of principle and dissent
Powell, who was first elected as a Member of Parliament in 2012, has a history of taking principled stands that have at times put her at odds with the party’s leadership.
She has made it clear that she believes the “welfare rebels” who were suspended from the parliamentary party should be allowed back into the fold.
She has also been a vocal critic of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s recent guidance on transgender issues, arguing that the Labour party has been wrongly swayed by the “culture wars” waged by its political opponents.
“I have always fought for women’s rights,” she told The Independent last week, but sees “absolutely no contradiction in fighting for those things, whilst also at the same time being really clear that I support the trans community.”
A new dynamic at the top of the party
These clear points of contention with the current government mean that Powell is likely, at least initially, to be a challenging new presence for Prime Minister Starmer.
While she has insisted that she does not seek “division or dissent,” she has also called for “an important conversation about how we can be better, because we need to be.”
Her final warning during the campaign now takes on a new and powerful resonance: “The stakes are too high.”
Her election has created a new and dynamic power structure at the very top of the Labour Party, one that is certain to shape its future direction.
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