Ms Powell could now be free to speak out against his Government’s policies from the back benches rather than being bound by collective responsibility like her rival
Lucy Powell has won Labour’s deputy leadership election but is expected to be a very different kind of leader.
Ms Powell could now be free to speak out against his Government’s policies from the back benches rather than being bound by collective responsibility like her defeated deputy leadership rival, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.
Ms Powell won the Labour deputy leadership contest with 54% of the vote, while Ms Phillipson took a 46% share. Unlike previous deputy leaders, Ms Powell has suggested she will refuse a return to a government role so she can speak more openly about the direction of the party in office.
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Past deputy leaders including Angela Rayner, Tom Watson and Harriet Harman all held cabinet posts. In her unsuccessful campaign, Ms Phillipson vowed to be a strong voice for members at the cabinet table.
She had said: “I’ll be in the room when those decisions are being made, at the cabinet table, and all the meetings that happen across government, able to push the case for where Labour should be stronger and should be bolder, I won’t be throwing stones from the outside.”
Writing in the Sunday Mirror last week, claimed members would expect a deputy to have a role in the Cabinet, and pointed out Gordon Brown had done the same for her in 2007.
Speaking after her win, Ms Powell said Labour “won’t win by trying to out-Reform Reform” after being crowned the party’s deputy leader.
She said: “It starts with us wrestling back the political megaphone and setting the agenda more strongly.
“Because let’s be honest, we’ve let Farage and his ilk run away with it. He wants to blame immigration for all the country’s problems.
“We reject that. Our diagnosis is different: that for too long, the country and the economy has worked in the interests of the few, not the many.”
However, Ms Powell also vowed to be an “ally” to the PM. She said: “It starts with us wrestling back the political megaphone and setting the agenda more strongly. Let’s be honest we’ve let Farage and his ilk run away with it. He wants to blame immigration for all the country’s problems. We reject that.
“Our diagnosis is different. That for too long the country and the economy has worked in the interests of the few, not the many. That trickle down economics hasn’t worked. Life has just got harder and harder, less and less secure – in work, in housing, in making ends meet.”
Responding, the PM passed on his congratulations, and claimed Ms Powell will be an “incredible” Deputy leader.
He said: “I look forward to continuing working with Lucy as my Labour Government continues to drive forwards the change the British people voted for last year.
“My Labour Government, and the entire Labour movement, will continue working at pace to deliver the patriotic renewal all corners of our country need – based on security, opportunity, and respect.”