Lucy Powell elected Labour deputy leader, beating Bridget Phillipson

Lucy Powell was elected Labour's deputy leader on Saturday, defeating Cabinet minister Bridget Phillipson by 87,407 votes to 73,536 in a contest decided by party members and affiliates. The result, announced on October 25, saw Powell take 54.3 percent of the vote to Phillipson's 45.7 percent on a turnout of 16.6 percent, with 160,993 ballots cast from about 970,642 eligible voters.

The contest was triggered by Angela Rayner's resignation as deputy leader last month. Powell, the Manchester Central MP, had been removed from her cabinet role in the reshuffle that followed Rayner's departure and ran as a candidate calling for a change of direction inside the party. In her victory speech she said Labour must "offer hope" and provide a clearer sense of purpose and values.

Powell has framed her campaign around criticism of recent government errors on welfare and the winter fuel payment and has argued that Labour is not sufficiently connected to its movement and communities. She told supporters she wanted faster action on issues such as lifting the two child benefit cap and a Budget that told "a strong story on fairness." She also urged that MPs suspended for rebelling over planned...