Lucy Powell, who was sacked from Keir Starmer's cabinet in September, has been elected as Labour's new deputy leader, winning 87,407 votes (54%) against Bridget Phillipson's 73,536. Turnout was 16.6% of eligible voters. The result is seen as a rebuke to Starmer, as Phillipson was Downing Street's preferred candidate.
Powell has indicated she will refuse a return to a government role to speak more openly about the party's direction. She said she wants to 'help Keir and our government to succeed' but that Labour 'must change how we are doing things to turn things around'. She added that the party must be 'more in touch with our movement, and the communities and workplaces we represent'.
Speaking after the result, Powell said Labour had to give a stronger sense of its purpose and values, and that 'for too long, the country and the economy has worked in the interests of the few, not the many'. She warned against trying to 'out-Reform Reform', saying the party must 'offer hope' and 'the big change the country is crying out for'.
Starmer congratulated Powell, calling her 'a proud defender of Labour values', but acknowledged the past week had shown 'the urgency of the task'. He said 'renewal is the only answer to decline, to grievance and to division'. Former deputy leader Angela Rayner described Powell as 'a powerful voice for our movement'.
The contest was triggered by Rayner's resignation over a property tax issue. Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said the election showed 'disillusionment of Labour members', while the Guardian's deputy political editor noted the low turnout as a 'much bigger and more worrying sign'.
