1.2.2 – Established parties
On Saturday 25 October, Lucy Powell was elected deputy leader of the Labour Party with 54.3% of the vote. The result will cause concern for Keir Starmer for two key reasons.
Firstly, the leadership’s preferred candidate, Bridget Phillipson, was defeated. As a result, Starmer is now being flanked by someone he sacked from his cabinet a month ago, and who was backed in their campaign by the more left-wing elements of the party (and Andy Burnham) at a time when Starmer is trying to find a more centrist approach to avoid losing more support to Reform UK.
The second reason that the result will be a worry for Starmer is the turnout. With just 16.6% of members taking part, a feeling of dissatisfaction or malaise can be sensed. If so few members are willing to take part in a ballot that can be completed online, it is difficult to envisage sufficient numbers of members being willing to canvas at election time to have an effective ground campaign.
A further problem that can be seen is with the position the new deputy leader finds herself in. Powell has her own mandate and will be a member of Labour’s ruling NEC. This will give her a lot of influence over the party’s strategic direction. Moreover, whilst Powell will sit in the political cabinet, she will not be a member of the government. Therefore, she will not be bound by collective ministerial responsibility. This brings with it the potential for her to publicly criticise the government. Whilst Starmer was quick to embrace and congratulate Powell following her victory, their opponents will be quick to identify and highlight any divisions that emerge between Starmer and Powell over time.