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Lucy Powell is the new Labour deputy leader, beating Bridget Phillipson in the contest.
Powell received a total of 87,407 votes (54 per cent), while Phillipson received 73,536 votes (46 per cent).
Total turnout was just 16.6 per cent, with over 970,000 – including affiliates as well as party members – being eligible to vote in the contest.
The contest was triggered following Angela Rayner’s resignation as deputy leader, as well as deputy prime minister and housing secretary, after being found to have breached the ministerial code over unpaid stamp duty.
The result will be seen to some degree as members giving their verdict on the party’s leadership. Powell was sacked by Keir Starmer as Commons leader in the September reshuffle, whereas Phillipson – a serving Cabinet minister – was seen as No 10’s preferred choice to succeed Rayner.
Writing for The House ahead of Labour conference, Phillipson stressed the importance of party unity, warning that “divided parties don’t win elections” and that Labour cannot afford to “re-open old wounds”.
Powell’s piece, meanwhile, sought to emphasise that her status as a backbench Labour MP meant she was better-placed to criticise the Starmer government when it got things wrong.
Corbynite group Momentum celebrated Powell’s win, saying it “proves Labour members are unhappy with the current direction of this government”. Pro-leadership faction Labour First said the result showed “morale in the party is low at the moment”, adding that they would be “reaching out” to Powell to “encourage her to represent all members… and to support the work of the Labour government as a team player”.
Polling shared with PoliticsHome showed that Labour voters want the party’s new deputy leader to focus on fixing public services more than anything else.
“Expertise in the economy and money” was the second most popular attribute, with 46 per cent of 2024 Labour voters ranking it in their top three.
Earlier in the contest, Phillipson received the most nominations from MPs with 175, while Powell secured 117. Bell Ribeiro-Addy, a London MP on the left of Labour, failed to get the 80 nominations needed, while other hopefuls Emily Thornberry, Paula Barker and Alison McGovern withdrew.
While Phillipson secured more support from Labour MPs, as well as the backing of Labour’s biggest affiliated trade unions, Powell came top in local party nominations with 286 compared to Phillipson’s 165.
A Survation poll of self-declared Labour members for LabourList on the eve of the party’s conference gave Powell a 31 per cent lead over Phillipson, while their latest survey showed the lead narrowing to 16 points.