Lucy Powell Wins Deputy Leadership, Rejects Government Role

Lucy Powell won Labour’s deputy leadership with 54% of the vote (87,407 votes) to Bridget Phillipson’s 46% (73,536 votes) in a ballot with a 16.6% turnout. The contest replaced Angela Rayner after her resignation over a stamp duty error and was widely seen as a referendum on the party’s direction. Powell — sacked from Sir Keir Starmer’s cabinet in September — said she will refuse a return to government so she can speak from the backbenches, a stance that could complicate Starmer’s leadership. Her campaign criticized a 'command and control' culture, rejected attempts to 'out-Reform Reform,' and called for policy shifts including scrapping the two-child benefit cap. The deputy prime minister role has already been assigned to David Lammy.