Labour leader Keir Starmer has suffered a significant blow after former cabinet minister Lucy Powell was elected as deputy leader, defeating his preferred candidate Bridget Phillipson by 87,407 votes to 73,576. The result, with a turnout of just 16.6 per cent, signals a desire among party members for a change in direction.
Powell’s victory represents a remarkable comeback after she was sacked as Commons leader by Starmer last month following Angela Rayner’s departure. She is widely seen as a close ally of Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, a potential leadership rival to Starmer.
In her final interview before the vote, Powell warned that the party “has not been able to control the agenda” and admitted to “mistakes and missteps.” She called for suspended MPs to be reinstated and urged a rapid policy shift, including scrapping the two-child benefit cap and ensuring fairness in the Budget.
After her win, Powell told a closed-door event that Labour must “offer hope and the big change the country is crying out for.” She stressed the need to “build a progressive alliance” as support fractures on the left, adding that the party “cannot out-Reform Reform” on issues like immigration.
Starmer welcomed Powell’s election but insisted “we must unite” as a party. He warned that only renewal can defeat the politics of grievance and division, and pointed to recent controversies including the loss of the Caerphilly seat, the grooming inquiry crisis, and a failed returns deal with France.
A Techne UK poll showed Labour slumping to 19 per cent, below 20 per cent for the first time since Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, while the Green Party surged to 12 per cent as left-wing voters abandon the party.
