Lucy Powell, the former Cabinet minister vying to be Labour’s Deputy Leader, received a significant boost as the party’s biggest donor, eco-millionaire Dale Vince, backed her campaign with a financial donation of £15,000.
Powell is in a head-to-head race with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to succeed Angela Rayner as the party’s deputy after Rayner quit over her tax affairs.
Powell, fired as Leader of the House of Commons in the recent reshuffle which stemmed from Rayner’s departure, has said she would not want to return to the Cabinet if she wins the contest.
Labour’s deputy leader is elected by the party’s members, which gives them a separate and independent mandate to that of the leader.
Powell argues that as she is no longer in the Cabinet, she would not be bound by the constraints of collective responsibility as her rival Phillipson is.
Instead, Powell has touted the deputy role as a position that will champion backbenchers and activists.
Rayner was also deputy prime minister, but Sir Keir Starmer demonstrated that the Labour deputy leader wouldn’t automatically get a Cabinet spot by naming David Lammy as Deputy Prime Minister as well as Justice Secretary.
Powell is making a virtue of her independence from No 10 in an atmosphere of heightened antagonism between the Labour leadership and its backbenchers.
Philipson, seen as No 10’s choice for the job, has highlighted her position within Government, pointing to her role as co-chair of the child poverty taskforce and extending free school meals.
Lucy Powell leaves Downing Street after attending a weekly Cabinet meeting (Photo: Rasid Necati Aslim/Getty)
Dale Vince, owner of the green electricity company Ecotricity, has donated more than £5.5m to Labour since 2020, making him one of the party’s leading donors. The entrepreneur, who was previously a new-age traveller, also owns Forest Green Rovers, which styles itself as the world’s first vegan football club.
“I believe Lucy Powell is the best choice for deputy leader because of her ability to communicate and to represent the views of the wider party, members and backbench MPs to the leadership and vice versa,” Vince, 64, told The i Paper on Tuesday.
“I believe that Lucy’s independence from Government and the collective responsibility of Cabinet will enable this vital role. I have great respect for Bridget, but on balance, with the deputy PM role now separate from the deputy leader – I believe it’s right to go all the way and have a deputy leader that is not in the Government,” he added.
While Vince has been mostly supportive of Starmer’s record in Government, especially its drive towards a green economy, he has also railed against ministers’ enthusiasm for nuclear power and carbon capture and storage.
He has also been outspoken on the Middle East, flying a Palestinian flag at Ecotricity’s headquarters in Gloucestershire.
Deputy race to dominate Labour conference
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is up against Lucy Powell in the Labour deputy leader race (Photo: James Manning/PA)Powell told The i Paper she was “delighted” to have Vince’s support.
“This campaign is bringing together Labour members and activists across our broad movement who know we need a full-time deputy who is not afraid to have the difficult conversations when we need to change course,” she added.
Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, which starts on Sunday, is likely to be dominated by the contest for deputy leader, which insiders are seeing as a proxy for the future direction of the party.
Both Powell and Phillipson have been traveling the country seeking support from local Constituency Labour Parties and the party’s union affiliates.
Endorsements from grassroots members buoyed Powell’s team, especially in Burnley, Rochdale, Bristol South, Folkestone and Hythe, Wycombe, Camborne and Redruth, areas where their Labour MPs endorsed Phillipson.
Voting begins October 8 for Labour members and supporters, ends October 23; the new deputy leader is announced two days later.
Phillipson’s campaign is backed by the Musicians’ Union, the Community union, and the National Union of Mineworkers.
Meanwhile, the Communication Workers Union is backing Powell, who has already secured support from Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, a longtime ally, Cabinet ministers including Ed Miliband and Lisa Nandy, and the affiliated group Disability Labour.
Powell spent Tuesday in Dunfermline, Stirling and Glasgow drumming up support both for her candidacy and the Labour Party ahead of key Scottish Parliament elections in May. She has also spent time in London and campaigned in Caerphilly, where Labour faces a tight by-election for the Welsh Senedd next month.
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Free from Cabinet collective responsibility, Powell has also criticised “unforced errors” by the Government over its botched attempt to cut disability benefits – on ice pending a review – and cuts to winter fuel payments that were partially reversed.
Powell has also dismissed as “sexist” suggestions that Labour members might vote for her to be deputy leader to signal they want her ally Burnham to replace Starmer as Prime Minister.
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