Labour’s new deputy leader Lucy Powell says she wants Starmer to succeed but party must change – as it happened

Powell says Labour ‘must change how we are doing things’

Lucy Powell was sacked from Keir Starmer’s cabinet in September and has indicated she will refuse a return to a government role so she can speak more openly about the direction of the party in office.

She has insisted she wants to “help Keir and our government to succeed” but the party “must change how we are doing things to turn things around”.

In a final message to supporters earlier this week she said Labour had to be “more in touch with our movement, and the communities and workplaces we represent, more principled and strategic, less tactical, and strongly guided by our values”.

Key events

Closing summary

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Here is a summary from today’s blog:

Lucy Powell has won Labour’s deputy leadership election, beating her rival Bridget Phillipson, as she said the party would not win by trying to “out-Reform Reform”. Powell, who was the Commons leader until she was sacked in Keir Starmer’s reshuffle at the start of September, was seen as the favourite throughout the contest. She won 87,407 votes, 54% of those cast, while Phillipson received 73,536. Turnout of eligible voters was 16.6%.
Her election as deputy leader marks the fourth time the Labour party has elected a woman to this position, after Margaret Beckett, Harriet Harman, and Angela Rayner.
The result was announced on Saturday morning after a vote that was widely seen as a referendum for Labour members on the direction of the party under Starmer. Phillipson, the education secretary, was seen as Downing Street’s preferred candidate.
Powell has insisted she wants to “help Keir [Starmer] and our government to succeed” but the party “must change how we are doing things to turn things around”. Speaking after the Labour deputy leadership results were announced, Powell said the party had to give a stronger sense of its purpose, values and beliefs.
Powell also said “that for too long, the country and the economy has worked in the interests of the few, not the many”. The Manchester Central MP said: “Because let’s be honest, we’ve let Farage and his ilk run away with it.” She also said Labour has to “offer hope” and “the big change the country is crying out for”. Powell described the desire for change as “palpable”.

Labour’s new deputy leader Lucy Powell says she wants Starmer to succeed but party must change – as it happened — Lucy Powell is elected as Labour deputy leader – video

Labour “must unite” said prime minister Keir Starmer after Powell was elected Labour’s new deputy leader. In his speech, he admitted that the past week, a bruising one for the party, had shown the urgency of the task. He added: “Renewal is the only answer to decline, to grievance and to division and we have to keep going on that.”
Starmer described the new deputy Labour leader as “a proud defender of Labour values”. The prime minister also touched upon British values and said the Labour party needs to come together to defend them as the party are “facing opponents who want to wage war against all that”.
At an event in Southwark in London after the official election result announcement, Powell said it was Labour’s job to stand together and see off “division, hate, disillusionment [and] “discontentment”. Powell told activists and Labour party supporters that she was “absolutely thrilled” to have been elected as the party’s new deputy leader.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said she would continue to be a “strong voice” at the cabinet table despite losing out to Powell in the deputy leadership contest. She said it was “crucial” for the party to “come together to take the fight to Reform in next year’s crucial Senedd, Holyrood and local elections”.
Former deputy Labour leader, Angela Rayner, congratulated Powell on her victory, describing her as “a powerful voice for our movement, our Labour party values, and the change the country needs”. The contest was triggered by Rayner’s resignation after she failed to pay the correct stamp duty on a property purchase.
“The country doesn’t have time for internal party feuds,” said Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper in comments responding to the news that Powell had been elected deputy leader of the Labour party.
“Powell’s election is a sign of the disillusionment of Labour members – but there is a much much bigger and more worrying sign. Turn out was just 16%”, wrote the Guardian’s deputy political editor, Jessica Elgot, as she shared her reaction to Powell being elected as Labour’s new deputy leader.
Starmer and justice secretary David Lammy should take responsibility for the error which led to a former asylum seeker, who sexually assaulted a woman and a teenage girl, to be accidentally released from prison, Epping Forest’s Tory MP said on Saturday. Epping Forest MP Neil Hudson told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “This sounds like an operational error, but the buck has to stop somewhere, and it has to stop at the top, at the justice secretary, the home secretary and the prime minister.”
The influential Labour thinktank the Fabian Society is urging Rachel Reeves to raise £12bn in next month’s budget by extending the freeze on income tax thresholds for another two years. Joe Dromey, the Fabians’ general secretary, argues in a new report that the move is the “best available option” for the chancellor as she seeks to offset the impact of weaker economic forecasts in her 26 November statement.
The leftwing independent Catherine Connolly is on track to win Ireland’s presidential election, according to early vote tallies. Reports from tallymen – unofficial but usually reliable observers at count centres – gave Connolly a wide lead on Saturday soon after ballot boxes were opened at 9am.
Health secretary Wes Streeting has warned people not to buy weight loss jabs from unregulated sources after an illegal laboratory was dismantled. Officers from the Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) raided the factory in Northampton and seized unlicensed medication worth £250,000.

Deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell said she had “stood firm” with victims of grooming gangs and wanted the promised inquiry established as soon as possible, reports the PA news agency.

Powell was forced to apologise in May after appearing to dismiss concerns about grooming gangs as a “dog whistle” issue.

Asked about her comments after her deputy leadership election victory, she told broadcasters:

I’m absolutely determined, I always have been, to make sure that those that were perpetrating grooming against vulnerable young girls and women they are found, they are charged, they are brought to justice, and all of those who turned a blind eye are also held to account for what they did.

I’ve stood firm with those victims throughout my career and I continue to do so today and I hope we get the inquiry up and running as soon as possible.

During a debate on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions in May, Reform UK supporter Tim Montgomerie asked Powell if she had seen a recent Channel 4 documentary on grooming gangs.

Powell responded “oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now do we” and “let’s get that dog whistle out shall we”. She subsequently said she was “challenging the political point scoring around it, not the issue itself” and was “sorry if this was unclear”.

Labour’s new deputy leader Lucy Powell said the error which saw Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu released was a “big mistake”.

Former asylum seeker Kebatu was jailed for 12 months in September for sexual assault and made the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order, but on Friday was released from prison in error.

Powell told broadcasters:

This is an operational matter and I’m sure the Ministry of Justice will be making their comments on that soon.

But obviously it’s a big mistake and we need to find him quickly and make sure that he’s deported, and that’s what we’ll be determined to do.

Health secretary Wes Streeting has warned people not to buy weight loss jabs from unregulated sources after an illegal laboratory was dismantled, reports the PA news agency.

Officers from the Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) raided the factory in Northampton and seized unlicensed medication worth £250,000.

An MHRA spokesperson said:

This is the first illicit production facility for weight loss medicine discovered in the UK and is believed to be the largest single seizure of trafficked weight loss medicines ever recorded by a law enforcement agency worldwide.

During the search, MHRA officers, supported by Northamptonshire police, seized tens of thousands of empty weight loss pens ready to be filled, raw chemical ingredients and more than 2,000 unlicensed retatrutide and tirzepatide pens awaiting dispatch to customers.

The street value of the finished weight loss products alone is estimated to be more than a quarter of a million pounds.

The officers also found “sophisticated packaging and manufacturing equipment” as well as £20,000 in cash.

Streeting said:

This is a victory in the fight against the shameless criminals who are putting lives at risk by peddling dangerous and illegal weight loss jabs to make a quick buck.

These unregulated products, made with no regard for safety or quality, posed a major risk to unwitting customers.

My message is clear: don’t buy weight loss medications from unregulated sources. Talk to your GP, seek NHS advice, and don’t line the pockets of criminals who don’t care about your health.

Safe, appropriate, licensed obesity drugs can greatly benefit those in need if taken under medical supervision, and I urge people to only purchase and use them with the approval and oversight of medics and pharmacists.

Andy Morling, head of the MHRA’s criminal enforcement unit, said:

This seizure shows the lengths these criminals will go to for profit. People should be extremely cautious when buying medicines online.

Prescription medicines should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy against a prescription issued by a healthcare professional.

Taking prescription medicines sourced in any other way carries serious risks to your health – there are no guarantees about what they contain, and some may even be contaminated with toxic substances.

Taking out the first illicit weight loss medicine manufacturing facility found in the UK is a landmark result for the MHRA and a major blow to the illegal trade. These products are untested, unauthorised and potentially deadly.

By taking this organised criminal network out of operation and stopping tens of thousands of potentially fatal products from entering circulation, we’ve prevented a serious risk to public health.

This is an illicit global market that endangers patients, puts big money in the pockets of organised criminals, and undermines legitimate healthcare.

This operation demonstrates, once again, that my officers will stop at nothing to identify, disrupt and dismantle the organised criminal networks who put profit before safety.

Heather Stewart

The influential Labour thinktank the Fabian Society is urging Rachel Reeves to raise £12bn in next month’s budget by extending the freeze on income tax thresholds for another two years.

Joe Dromey, the Fabians’ general secretary, argues in a new report that the move is the “best available option” for the chancellor as she seeks to offset the impact of weaker economic forecasts in her 26 November statement.

Reeves is expected to have to find £10bn to £30bn in annual tax increases or spending cuts to remain on track to meet her fiscal rules, after the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) downgraded its projections for growth.

Dromey describes extending the threshold freeze as “an effective and progressive way to raise over half the funding that she needs, with most coming from wealthier households, and with relatively little political risk”.

Rachel Reeves is expected to have to find £10bn to £30bn in annual tax increases or spending cuts to meet her fiscal rules. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing/Getty Images

Starting in 2022 as the UK recovered from the costs of the Covid pandemic, Rishi Sunak froze the thresholds at which workers move into a higher income tax band instead of increasing them each year in line with inflation.

Jeremy Hunt as chancellor extended that pause but it is set to end in 2027/28. Over that time, the OBR estimates that the freeze will have brought in an additional £45bn a year.

Extending it could be controversial as the number of people paying the 40% higher rate of income tax, which currently kicks in at £50,271, is already set to expand significantly.

Dromey acknowledges the downsides of the policy, including the fact opposition parties are likely to highlight Reeves’s argument in last year’s budget that maintaining the freeze would “hurt working people [and] take more money out of their payslips”.

But he argues it would be the progressive policy choice. “The chancellor recently said she wanted to ensure that those with the ‘broadest shoulders pay their fair share of tax’. Our modelling suggests that half (49%) of the revenue raised would come from the highest-earning fifth of households. Conversely, the poorest fifth of households would bear just 4% of the cost,” he writes.

Former deputy Labour leader, Angela Rayner, has congratulated Lucy Powell on her victory. In a post on X, Rayner wrote:

Delighted for my friend, and brilliant colleague Lucy Powell.

She’ll be a powerful voice for our movement, our Labour party values, and the change the country needs.

The contest was triggered by Rayner’s resignation after she failed to pay the correct stamp duty on a property purchase.

Leftwinger Catherine Connolly takes clear lead in Ireland’s presidential race

Rory Carroll

The leftwing independent Catherine Connolly is on track to win Ireland’s presidential election, according to early vote tallies.

Reports from tallymen – unofficial but usually reliable observers at count centres – gave Connolly a wide lead on Saturday soon after ballot boxes were opened at 9am.

Opinion polls had predicted a landslide for Connolly, 68, who captured the imagination of many younger people and was backed by an alliance of leftwing opposition parties in Friday’s election.

The presidency is a largely ceremonial office, but victory for Connolly, a member of parliament from Galway, would be a humbling rebuke to the centre-right government.

Catherine Connolly casts her vote in the election for the next Irish president in Galway city on Friday. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA

Her opponent, Heather Humphreys, 62, a former cabinet minister who ran for the Fine Gael party, was tainted by association with the unpopular ruling coalition.

Anger over a housing crisis and the cost of living, campaign blunders by Fine Gael and its ruling partner Fianna Fáil, rare unity among leftwing parties and deft use of social media combined to make Connolly a symbol of change.

Early tallies from Clare, Dublin, Donegal, Galway, Kildare, Meath and Wexford gave Connolly a clear lead, in some cases beating Humphreys by a ratio of two-to-one. The result “looks incredibly positive” for Connolly, said Labour leader Ivana Bacik.

There were also indications of a low turnout and unusually high number of spoilt votes, reflecting widespread frustration at the choice on offer and lack of additional candidates on the ballot.

Powell added:

The country hasn’t worked for people for the last 14 years and we’re going about fixing that every single day.

And I wanted to be here in London today, because we’ve got these huge elections next May here in London, in Scotland, in Wales and right across the country, and I’m going to get to work today, from day one to make sure that we get these brilliant candidates [and] these brilliant councillors elected here in London so that they can continue to deliver that change here on the ground in London and right across the country.

Because, it’s [by] having Labour councillors, Labour MSPs, Labour Senate members, Labour representatives right round the country working with the Labour government that we can bring that transformational change that we promised people at the election [and] that I’m determined that we deliver. So, thank you all very much for coming today.

Newly elected deputy leader of the Labour party Lucy Powell speaking to party activists and supporters in London on Saturday. Photograph: Lucy North/PA

Powell tells Labour party supporters that ‘it’s our job to stand together in face of division and hate’

Lucy Powell has told activists and Labour party supporters that she is “absolutely thrilled” to have been elected as the party’s new deputy leader.

At an event in Southwark in London, Powell said:

It really rests on our shoulders now as the Labour party [and] as the Labour government to prove that progressive, mainstream politics can really change people’s lives for the better, because we are facing these forces of division, of hate, of disillusionment, of discontentment.

And it’s our job to really see that off and stand together and to stand tall in the face of that division and that hate, and that is what I will do working alongside Keir [Starmer], Anna [Turley], the rest of the party and the Labour government, because I want to show people what this Labour government is really about. We are about changing people’s lives for the better.

Newly elected deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell is to meet activists and party supporters in London alongside Labour party chair, Anna Turley.

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