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Lucy Powell, the former House of Commons leader who was kicked out of the government in a ministerial reshuffle last month, has been elected Labour’s deputy leader. Powell beat education secretary Bridget Phillipson in the contest as she received 87,407 votes. Phillipson received 73,536 votes in the election, representing 46 per cent of the voter share. The position had been vacant since Angela Rayner resigned after it was found she had not paid the right amount of tax on new property she bought. Powell’s election adds another layer of controversy within Keir Starmer’s government, given she is seen as a more left-leaning MP in the Labour Party. She was also moved out of Starmer’s government in a large government reshuffle last month after Rayner’s resignation, pointing to the underlying feud between the party leader and Powell. Despite becoming Labour’s deputy leader, justice secretary David Lammy will remain as deputy prime minister. Labour’s conundrum Powell’s influence in her role as deputy leader will be under question over the next few months but the position has been described as being tantamount to a “campaigner-in-chief”. Powell will also be in the spotlight to shore up support across Labour’s disgruntled member base after a tricky first year for the party’s time in power. She is also expected to lobby the Prime Minister and senior ministers on behalf of Labour backbenchers in favour of a more left-leaning agenda, which could complicate government hopes of introducing sweeping welfare reforms and smarter fiscal policymaking. In a speech to an audience following her election on Saturday morning, Powell told Starmer, who attended the event, that she would be an “ally” to him. “We have to offer hope, to offer the big change the country is crying out for,” Powell said. “We must give a stronger sense of our purpose, whose side we are on and of our Labour values and beliefs.” She said that “people feel that this government is not being bold enough in delivering the kind of change we promised”, adding that Labour “must give a stronger sense of whose side we are on and what our values are”. Powell also referenced Labour’s recent defeat in the Caerphilly by-election in Wales as a sign that the party had to double down on its goals for boosting living standards.
