Lucy Powell just stepped into the role of Labour’s new deputy leader and she’s already making waves! 🌊 Having been sacked from the Prime Minister’s Cabinet last month, Powell is calling for Labour to be bolder under Keir Starmer’s leadership. She’s emphasising the need for a “stronger sense of our purpose” and isn’t shying away from confrontation, challenging the party to clearly show “whose side we are on.”
After a tough week for Labour, losing badly in the Caerphilly Senedd by-election, these calls for change echo through party ranks. Health Secretary Wes Streeting compared the recent defeat to the 2021 Hartlepool by-election, urging the party to take it to heart and revamp their approach to governance – not just settle for taking it on the chin.
Powell, who edged out Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson in the deputy leadership race, isn’t planning on stirring things up for the sake of it. She wants to bring grassroots concerns to the forefront and believes in building a “broad progressive consensus” rather than trying to outpace Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. It’s about time we grab the political megaphone back and shape the agenda ourselves, she believes.
Lucy Powell’s election comes after a series of setbacks for Sir Keir, but she views this as a golden opportunity. “We have to offer hope, to offer the big change the country is crying out for,” she said. Sir Keir, acknowledging the electoral defeat in Wales, said that seeing change in their communities is what people truly need right now.
As she steps forward, Powell warns against being misguided by attempts to tighten migration policies to counter Farage’s influence, stressing that this won’t win the hearts of the people. “The country and the economy must work in the interests of the many, not just the few,” she asserts.
Powell has had her own controversies, but she’s ready to turn the page and rally Labour around renewed efforts to address the cost of living crisis and rebuild public services. With challenges ahead, Labour is being urged to shake things up and deliver the transformative change the UK is hoping for. Stay tuned! 🔴💬