Lucy Powell wins Labour deputy leader with 54%

Lucy Powell is now Labour’s deputy leader. The Manchester Central MP beat Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson with 54% of the vote, winning 87,407 ballots on a 16.6% turnout and finishing nearly 14,000 ahead. In her first remarks, she said Labour must be “bolder” and that she would be a “champion for our Labour values”. BBC News and the Guardian reported the figures and quotes.

Let’s clear up the job title. Labour’s deputy leader is a party post, not a government one. After last month’s reshuffle, David Lammy serves as deputy prime minister; Powell will not. Instead, she takes a seat on Labour’s National Executive Committee and becomes the party’s “campaigner‑in‑chief”. What this means: she’ll shape party strategy, rules and campaigning, even if she doesn’t make cabinet calls.

Powell ran on giving members a louder voice and pushing for a “course correction” in government. She was removed from the cabinet in September, and many of her backers want Labour to set the agenda more assertively. Her lines about not trying to “out‑Reform” Reform UK and about reclaiming the political “megaphone” capture that message.

How the vote worked matters for how you read it. Labour uses a one‑member‑one‑vote ballot that also includes many people eligible through their trade unions. Turnout was 16.6%, which BBC News notes can happen because some affiliate voters don’t engage with internal contests; Unite even backed neither candidate. So the mandate is real, but it reflects a slice of the membership.

The race shrank quickly from six names to two. Phillipson, seen as the leadership’s preferred pick, began with more MP and union endorsements. Powell closed the gap through local party support and high‑profile backing from Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham. While mostly polite, the campaign flared into claims of “mud‑slinging” and sexist briefings, a reminder that internal elections can turn rough.

If you’re new to the story, the vacancy opened when Angela Rayner quit last month after admitting she underpaid tax on a property purchase. The reshuffle that followed left the deputy leadership as a party‑only role, while the deputy prime minister post went to Lammy. This is why today’s result matters most for how Labour runs itself, not for the make‑up of the cabinet.

The national backdrop hasn’t helped Labour. This week brought questions over a grooming gangs inquiry and the mistaken release of a migrant sex offender from prison, alongside a by‑election defeat in Caerphilly, which Labour had held for a century. Keir Starmer called it a “bad result” and said people need to see visible change where they live. ITV News Wales described the Caerphilly defeat as historic.

So what changes might Powell try to encourage? She told members Labour won’t beat Reform by copying it. Expect more emphasis on values‑led arguments about living standards, public services and fairness, rather than chasing right‑wing talking points. Media literacy note: when any figure dominates the headlines, ask who benefits from the framing and whether it speaks to people’s daily problems.

Policy is where this gets tested. Powell repeatedly cited recent “mistakes” - including June’s U‑turn on welfare cuts and the winter fuel allowance row - as reasons to listen more widely across the party before decisions land. If she uses the deputy role to open up earlier conversations, policy may be shaped with more input, even if the overall programme stays steady.

What to watch next is practical. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is weeks from her Budget, with expectations of tax rises, and there are local and devolved elections in roughly six months. Powell will be the party’s campaign lead. The open question, as BBC News puts it, is whether her election tightens Labour’s operation or adds friction at a sensitive moment.

How to read the numbers fairly: this is a clear win but not a wipe‑out. It signals a desire for more confidence and clarity rather than a rejection of Keir Starmer. The low turnout makes sweeping claims risky, especially with affiliate ballots in the mix. Treat it as a real but limited signal from a motivated share of the Labour family.

If you’re teaching or studying party politics, use this as a live case study. Track three things: how the NEC debates and candidate selections look with Powell in the room; whether campaign messaging feels less cautious; and how Wales and Scotland respond before next spring’s votes. Then match those claims against what changes on the ground - budgets, services and outcomes.