The Commons: Labour’s New Deputy Leader – This Year’s Most Unexpected Election
David Lammy and Lucy Powell
This September saw the Labour government rocked by further controversy, when Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner stood down after breaking the Ministerial code by not paying the proper amounts of tax owed on a flat bought earlier in the year.
Rayner had been elected as the Labour Party’s Deputy Leader back in 2020, alongside Keir Starmer’s election as leader. Known for her working-class background, she was portrayed as a bridge between Starmer’s leadership and the Party’s more left-wing base – a similar role played by Tony Blair’s Deputy, John Prescott.
As Starmer’s deputy, she was given the position of Deputy Prime Minister following Labour’s election win in 2024, alongside the role of Housing Minister. Presumably, the post of Deputy Prime Minister would naturally be handed over to her successor, Lucy Powell, who was elected as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party at the end of October. This, however, was not to be the case.
Powell had only run for the Deputy Leadership in the first place after having been dismissed from Cabinet at the same time as Rayner. Since then, it has been made clear that her new leadership role will extend only to the Labour Party and its National Executive Committee, rather than the government in Westminster. Starmer appointed his former Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, to the post of Deputy Prime Minister immediately following Rayner’s resignation.
This situation speaks to the unique position of Deputy Prime Minister within Britain’s unwritten constitution. Strictly speaking, the Deputy Prime Minister is not an office required by the constitution at all; it being an honorific title with the holder deriving their salary from another Cabinet position held alongside it. In spite of the title, it contrasts with positions like Vice President in America, in that it carries no real bearing on who may act as a stand-in or replacement for the Prime Minister should the need arise.
The office of Deputy Prime Minister, like that of Prime Minister, is one that has evolved gradually over time. The position did not exist until 1942 when, during the Second World War, Winston Churchill created the post for Labour leader Clement Attlee to formally acknowledge his role in the Wartime Coalition. However, this post was not continued immediately after the war due to concerns by the King that it may evolve into a similar position as Vice President, with the holder being seen as the natural successor to a Prime Minister, taking the role in selecting a Prime Minister away from the Monarch.
The post was revived at numerous points under subsequent governments, but only on an informal basis. Unlike Labour, the Conservative Party, which held power for the majority of the post-war period, does not have an internal deputy leadership position, with the title of Deputy Prime Minister occasionally being ascribed to senior allies of the Prime Minister instead. Regardless of which party governed, it remained the process that new leaders would be selected by the parties’ members, rather than through any kind of designated succession.
The position perhaps gained more importance from 1997 onwards, with Prescott leading numerous different departments and occasionally clashing with Blair on certain policies. In 2010, the role was given to Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg – representing the balance of power between parties within the governing coalition. However, it has remained a post that Prime Ministers can do away with as they see fit, and which they can award to any member of their Cabinets.
Starmer has therefore been entirely within rights to grant the office to individuals other than his parties Deputy Leader. That being said, whilst she may not have a post in government, Powell’s win may yet pose a challenge for Starmer’s leadership.
Powell has frequently been described as on the so-called ‘soft left’ of Labour – a loose term fitting all those between the hard-left and the centre-right of the Party. Her win has been seen by numerous commentators to be a swing against the current leadership of the Labour Party following the government’s recent plummeting in the polls. The past month has seen Labour falling behind the official Opposition in the Conservatives, Nigel Farage’s Reform, and other parties on the progressive left.
Their recent defeat in the Welsh Parliament over the constituency of Caerphilly, which they had held for 100 years, was portrayed in the media as a historic loss of confidence in Labour. Starmer himself has had the lowest popularity ratings for any Prime Minister on record. Meanwhile, the past week has seen increased mutterings of an open challenge for the leadership from Wes Streeting and others, ahead of the upcoming autumn budget.
Whilst on the surface there had not been much difference in policy between Powell and her main rival, Bridget Phillipson, Powell had pitched herself as speaking for the wider Party, securing the support of figures like Andy Burnham, the Manchester Mayor who had been at the centre of rumors around a separate bid for the leadership at the same time.
Powell, being the MP for Manchester Central, had dismissed attempts to portray her as part of any proxy war within the party, dubbing attempts to attach her to Burnham as “sexist.” Nevertheless, she had received the endorsement of factions such as Mainstream, a group set up by Burnham and others as “a home for Labour’s radical realists.” The group celebrated her win as a “victory for Labour’s mainstream.” In spite of her stating that she aimed to act as a bridge between the Party and the leadership, Powell positioned herself as the one standing up for true Labour values in the contest again Phillipson, who was seen as having the backing of the leadership and the majority of Labour’s MPs.
With a campaign based around listening to members and trade unions, it is difficult not to see her win as indicating a growing discontent within the Party. Powell had consistently led in the polls, though her margin of victory was ultimately tighter than many had predicted at 54.5% of votes. In her acceptance speech, Powell claimed members were increasingly feeling left out of the conversation, stating that “unity and loyalty comes from collective purpose – not from command and control,” and pledging to act as a “strong, independent voice.” She further stated that Labour “needs to do better” in the face of political extremism and hate.
Whilst Powell has continued to maintain that there is no genuine split between her and the leadership, urging Labour stick to its pledges on not raising tax, her win represents a clear signal from those members who voted that they wish to see a change in direction from the government. This point is further demonstrated through the fact that the election had only seen a turnout of around 16.6% of eligible members in the first place.
With the candidates having both been former members of the government, and with only a short timeline allowed for candidates to make their bids, it appears there may be little enthusiasm from the membership for either candidate. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of Labour members have continued to abandon them for parties such as the Liberal Democrats and the Greens. All eyes will be on the upcoming budget therefore when it is announced later this month. Amid so many challenges, this is already being described as pivotal in determining whether the Labour leadership can regain its popularity; both with its base and the country as a whole.
