Lucy Powell, a figure long familiar to Labour Party insiders and Westminster watchers, has emerged as the new deputy leader of the United Kingdom’s ruling Labour Party, following a closely watched contest that concluded on Saturday, October 25, 2025. Her victory over Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson marks a significant moment for the party, coming at a time of internal soul-searching and external political turbulence.
The contest, which saw Powell secure 87,407 votes (54%) against Phillipson’s 73,536 (46%), was set in motion by the resignation of Angela Rayner, who stepped down after a tax controversy involving an unpaid stamp duty on a property purchase. Rayner’s departure triggered not only a leadership race but also a broader cabinet reshuffle that had seen Powell herself ousted from her position as Leader of the House of Commons just seven weeks earlier. As reported by Reuters, Prime Minister Keir Starmer had removed Powell from his cabinet, making her subsequent victory all the more remarkable—and, perhaps, a little awkward for the party’s top brass.
Powell’s political journey is a testament to her resilience and deep roots within Labour. She began her career working for Labour MPs Glenda Jackson and Beverley Hughes, before joining a pro-EU campaign group. She later managed Ed Miliband’s successful leadership campaign, serving as his deputy chief of staff, and was elected as MP for Manchester Central in 2012. Over the years, she has served under Miliband, Jeremy Corbyn, and Starmer, making her a rare bridge across the party’s various factions.
After Labour’s general election victory, Powell was appointed Leader of the House of Commons in Starmer’s cabinet. But her tenure was cut short in the reshuffle following Rayner’s resignation, a move that positioned her as the so-called "anti-Starmer" candidate in the deputy leadership race. According to Sky News, Powell campaigned on a promise to “provide a stronger, more independent voice” for Labour members and to serve as a constructive critic of the government’s direction.
Her acceptance speech was both a rallying cry and a warning. "We have to offer hope, to offer the big change the country is crying out for. We must give a stronger sense of our purpose, whose side we are on and of our Labour values and beliefs," Powell declared. She did not shy away from critiquing the government’s performance, stating, “People feel that this Government is not being bold enough in delivering the kind of change we promised.” As The Sunday Times noted, her words were a call for the party to reconnect with its base and to resist the temptation to shift rightward in response to the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party.
Indeed, the timing of Powell’s election could hardly be more fraught. Labour had just suffered a humiliating defeat in the Caerphilly Senedd by-election, finishing third behind Plaid Cymru and Reform UK, with only 11% of the vote—a stunning result for a party that had held the seat for over a century. Health Secretary Wes Streeting likened the loss to the 2021 Hartlepool by-election, emphasizing that the party must take the setback to heart and use it as a catalyst for renewal. “We’ve got to take the message from Caerphilly not just on the chin, we’ve got to take it to heart—and we have got to change the way our Labour Government drives change and delivers in just the same way we did in opposition after Hartlepool,” Streeting told The Sunday Times.
Powell’s victory, however, was not without controversy or criticism. Turnout in the deputy leadership contest was just 16.6% of eligible voters, suggesting a degree of apathy or fatigue among party members. Moreover, her own record has come under scrutiny. In May 2025, Powell described grooming gangs as a “dog whistle issue,” a remark that provoked outrage and required a public apology. She has also been criticized for defending the government’s unpopular cut to winter fuel allowance while in cabinet, only to later oppose proposed welfare cuts after her dismissal.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch seized on Powell’s past comments, saying, “Never forget, this is the woman who said that calling for a Grooming Gangs Inquiry was a ‘dog whistle’. Now she’s the deputy leader of the Labour Party. It’s shameful, and a testament to the total weakness of Keir Starmer.” Such attacks highlight the challenges Powell will face in navigating both internal party dynamics and external political pressures.
Yet, Powell has insisted that her goal is not to undermine Starmer but to represent the concerns of grassroots Labour members. “I’m not going to be throwing bricks at Keir,” she said, echoing her commitment to constructive criticism rather than public disloyalty. As reported by BBC News, she indicated that while her new role frees her from cabinet collective responsibility, she intends to voice most critiques privately, at least for now. “My observations and critiques will mainly be articulated privately,” Powell told reporters, suggesting a measured approach to her newfound platform.
Her election also reflects broader anxieties within Labour. The party, despite being in government, has been “losing elections, losing attention, often losing the argument,” as one BBC correspondent put it. The past seven weeks alone have seen a string of controversies, from the grooming gangs inquiry chaos to by-election defeats and policy blunders. Powell’s rise is, in many ways, an expression of the party’s desire for a course correction.
In her victory speech, Powell warned against Labour trying to “out-Reform Reform” by adopting right-wing immigration stances, instead urging the party to “build a broad progressive consensus.” She argued, “It starts with us wrestling back the political megaphone and setting the agenda more strongly. Because let’s be honest, we’ve let Farage and his ilk run away with it. He wants to blame immigration for all the country’s problems. We reject that. Our diagnosis is different: that for too long, the country and the economy has worked in the interests of the few, not the many.”
Prime Minister Starmer, for his part, congratulated Powell, calling her “a proud defender of Labour values” and acknowledging the urgency of delivering visible improvements to voters. However, the relationship between the two is likely to be closely watched, given the recent history and Powell’s mandate to speak for the party’s rank and file.
While Powell will not serve as deputy prime minister—Justice Minister David Lammy was appointed to that role after Rayner’s resignation—her election as deputy leader positions her as a key voice in shaping Labour’s future direction. Endorsed by Mainstream, the group backed by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, Powell’s victory also signals the enduring influence of Labour’s northern and progressive wings.
As Labour faces mounting challenges, from electoral setbacks to internal dissent, Lucy Powell’s ascent could either help steer the party toward renewal or deepen its divisions. For now, she stands as both a symbol of change and a reminder of the ongoing struggle to define what Labour stands for in a shifting political landscape.
