By Rachael Burford

Copyright standard

Labour risks losing voters in London to left-wing independent parties and Reform UK unless it unites its supporters, Lucy Powell warned today.

Ms Powell, who is battling Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to replace Angela Rayner as Labour’s deputy leader, said it was “really clear” the party is “at risk of losing votes and support at both ends” of the political spectrum.

“In London in particular we are actually losing more support to the left progressive vote”, the former cabinet minister told the Standard.

“We have to unite our voter coalition. Not just try and tack one way or the other.”

London returned 59 Labour MPs at the last general election from 75 parliamentary constituencies. The party also controls 21 of the city’s 32 councils.

But recent by-elections in the capital have suggested collapsing Labour support.

The party has lost seats to pro-Palestine independents in Redbridge, Hounslow and Newham, the Green Party in Haringey and the Liberal Democrats in Camden.

In Westminster, defections and by-election losses to the Tories have diminished Labour’s local majority.

Reform also won its first London council seat in Bromley over the summer, prompting a stark warning to Labour members about “the start of a new trend” in voting patterns from Beckenham and Penge MP Liam Conlon.

The party faces a tough set of local elections in Scotland, Wales and England, including London, in May.

Ms Powell was campaigning in Lewisham over the weekend and said she spoke to “a lot of traditional Labour voters who are frustrated” with how the Government has acted since coming to power last July.

They are concerned about the economy and whether Government policies are “working in the interests of ordinary people”, she said.

The Manchester Central MP added that cities like London and Manchester are “built on different generations coming to this country to work” but added that she “understood” where frustration with immigration “is coming from, particularly around housing”.

She said: “People worry about the impact of immigration… We need a stronger story to tell on security, on the economy and on jobs.”

Ms Powell has suggested the Government should consider lifting the two-child benefit cap by raising taxes on gambling firms to cover the cost.

Seven MPs, including Hayes and Harlington MP John McDonnell and Poplar and Limehouse MP Apsana Begum, were suspended from the party last year for voting in favour of a motion calling for an end to the policy, which prevents parents from claiming benefits for more than two children.

“We face big elections next year in councils across our London,” Ms Powell said.

“In many parts of the capital we face a big threat from the Lib Dems, the Green Party and other Independents to our left, in other parts, particularly in outer London to Reform.

“What’s clear is that we need to tell the story of whose side we are on and offer hope.

“Tacking one way or the other won’t help us rebuild our coalition across London and the country and win.

“We have to tell a better story of the hope and change Labour governments bring, improving the NHS, tackling the cost of living and cracking down on crime.

“I get the challenge Labour faces and as a full time deputy leader I would be best placed to meet it.”

Ms Powell, who was sacked as Commons leader in Sir Keir Starmer’s recent reshuffle, has sought to differentiate herself from rival Ms Phillipson, who is regarded as Number 10’s choice for the deputy leader position, by appealing to the left of the party.

It is understood that Ms Powell has won support in London from Walthamstow, Dulwich and West Norwood, Brent East, West Lewisham and East Dulwich Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs).

The winner of the contest will be announced on Saturday, October 25.