We must turn Labour around, deputy leadership frontrunner warns Starmer as she hits out at ‘mistakes’
Lucy Powell challenges Starmer’s authority: ‘We need to make some changes’
- Lucy Powell, a frontrunner in the Labour deputy leadership race, has challenged Sir Keir Starmer's authority, stating the party needs to change direction to improve its “dismal poll ratings”.
- She believes her sacking as a minister was due to her opposition to welfare cuts and criticised the leadership for “missteps and mistakes”, including failing to listen to MPs.
- Powell advocates for restoring the whip to welfare rebels and expressed her support for both women's rights and the trans community, arguing Labour should not be swayed by “culture wars”.
- She warned against trying to “out Reform, Reform”, stressing the importance of rebuilding a broader voter coalition that also appeals to the left flank to prevent losing voters to other parties.
- Powell called for a Budget focused on fairness, specifically urging the urgent lifting of the two-child benefit cap to tackle child poverty and address deep-seated inequalities.