The former Labour party chair 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.
Lucy Powell must be given a place in the Cabinet if she wins the Labour Deputy leadership race, Harriet Harman has claimed.
The former Labour party chair 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. Writing in The Sunday Mirror, the peer, who has also been acting leader of the opposition, claimed both Ms Powell and her rival Bridget Phillipson would excel in the role, but also expressed sadness at the departure of Angela Rayner.
Both women are campaigning to succeed Ms Rayner, who resigned from the post, and as Deputy Prime Minister, last month, in a row over underpaying stamp duty tax.
READ MORE: Fighting like stags – these MPs caused ‘the great rumble in the Westminster jungle’READ MORE: Bridget Phillipson vows urgent child poverty action and warns against deputy ‘throwing stones’
Ms Harman wrote: “I think the party expects the person they elected as their deputy to be part of Labour’s top team in a Labour government. I wasn’t in the cabinet when I won the deputy leadership in 2007 but Gordon immediately put me in.
“While Bridget is already a member of the Cabinet, Lucy is not. If Lucy’s elected Deputy I hope Keir Starmer will offer her a seat in the Cabinet which she should accept.”
Ms Harman also advised whoever wins to take the lead in “all elections” ahead of a crucial year for the party in 2026. She explained: “Head straight out to Wales and up to Scotland.
“It will lift the spirits of the activists you join on wet and windy doorsteps as they work their socks off in the run up to the toughest of elections for the Welsh Synned and the Scottish Parliament next May. Fill your first 100 days with campaign visits to all the places we have council elections next year. It’s a real privilege to do that.”
“How many people have a job where they get to go to every part of our beautiful and inspiring country to work with local people determined to change their area for the better? Be really generous and nice to the candidate you beat, be magnanimous to her in victory and avoid any triumphalism The Labour Party likes you both, so find an early opportunity to let the party see you working together.”
The winner will be announced on October 25, with the winner being either Ms Powell, the former Leader of the House, or the Education Secretary, Ms Phillipson.
READ MORE: Join our Mirror politics WhatsApp group to get the latest updates from Westminster