Lucy Powell has been elected Labour’s new deputy leader in a potential blow to the authority of Sir Keir Starmer.
The Manchester Central MP, who was sacked from Starmer’s Cabinet last month, has promised to stand up to the leadership in her new role and used her victory speech to warn against trying to “out-Reform Reform”.
She defeated Bridget Phillipson, seen as the more pro-Starmer candidate, with the support of 54.3 per cent of members when the result was announced on Saturday morning. Powell had been the bookmakers’ favourite after polls of the membership consistently showed her in the lead, although her margin of victory was tighter than the polling had indicated.
The deputy leadership election, triggered by Angela Rayner’s resignation, was widely regarded as a referendum on whether or not Labour activists approve of the current direction of the Government. Turnout in the election was unusually low, with just one in six of those eligible to vote casting a ballot.
Powell has promised to support the Government but has been critical of policies such as cutting welfare and keeping the two-child benefit cap in place.
She will not become Deputy Prime Minister – a role held by David Lammy since Rayner stepped down – and has suggested she wants to stay on the back benches in order to be a full-time campaigner.
But Powell automatically gains a seat on Labour’s powerful national executive committee, and may now become a focus of internal opposition to Starmer – as well as a potential contender in any future leadership election.
The 51-year-old has been in Parliament since 2012, and served in the shadow cabinets of Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn, before quitting in protest at Corbyn’s leadership.
She was seen as broadly loyal to Starmer, and was appointed Leader of the House of Commons when Labour came to power following last year’s general election.
But Powell was fired from her post in the reshuffle which was sparked by Rayner’s departure and has since taken a much more critical tone of the leader.
She was generally regarded as the more left-wing candidate in the deputy leadership election, after potential contenders from the Corbynite left failed to attract enough support from fellow MPs to make it to the ballot paper.
Powell is close to Andy Burnham but has denied that she is backing any moves for him to make a comeback to Westminster and challenge Starmer for the keys to No 10.
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