huffingtonpost - 3 days ago

Lucy Powell speaks to the media after being elected as the new Labour Party deputy leader.The words must really have stuck in Keir Starmer’s throat.“I’m delighted to start working with Lucy as our new deputy leader,” said the prime minister just moments after it was confirmed that Lucy Powell had beaten Bridget Phillipson at the end of an at-times bitter contest.“Lucy has always been a proud defender of Labour values, and that is exactly what we need at this moment,” Starmer added.It was a remarkable volte-face for the PM, given he decided just seven weeks ago that he no longer needed Powell in his cabinet as he sacked her as Commons leader.The real reason for her defenestration has never been revealed, but the belief in Westminster is that she was far too willing to tell Starmer where he was going wrong.It is ironic, therefore, that those same qualities enabled her to gain her revenge on the PM, who cannot remove her from her new post as she has been elected by Labour members.The margin of victory – 54% to 46% – was closer than many expected, but one Powell supporter told HuffPost UK: “Lucy versus the Labour Party machine was always going to be close.”Although she was never officially endorsed by No.10, there was no doubt that Phillipson, the education secretary, was Starmer’s preferred candidate.It is reasonable, therefore, to see her defeat as yet another blow for the PM at a time when his own future is being openly debated by Labour MPs.One said: “The result shows that Lucy Powell will be in her job longer than Keir will be in his, which is highly ironic.”A minister said: “It’s another masterstroke from the PM, who sacked Lucy and now she’s become politically stronger as a result. Maybe No.10 need to reflect on that.”Powell wasted no time in making it clear that she is unhappy at the job Starmer is currently doing.“We have to offer hope, to offer the big change the country is crying out for,” she said in her victory speech.“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”.One Powell opponent in the party said the real test for Labour’s new deputy leader would come now.“It reminds me a bit of when Rishi Sunak was up against Liz Truss to be Tory leader - one candidate won by telling the party a load of bollocks, but the person who lost was ultimately be proven entirely right.“Also, Lucy’s ran as campaigner in chief, so let’s see how she gets on with next year’s elections.”That is a reference to next May, when elections take place for the Welsh Senedd, the Scottish Parliament and councils across England.If Labour do as badly as all of the opinion polls suggest, it will be Powell, as well as Starmer, who will have some explaining to do.Related...End Of The Keir Show: How Senior Labour Figures Now Believe Starmer Is Already ToastExclusive: Labour Anger Erupts Over Party s Response To Katie Lam Immigration RowThe Gloves Are Off: Phillipson And Powell Trade Blows As Labour Race Reaches Climax

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