Lucy Powell urges party to avoid ‘write off’ May local elections viewing them as inevitable losses

The party must avoid “write off” next May’s elections as a likely moment for big losses, instead leveraging the upcoming fiscal plan as a way to seize back public focus, the former minister has said as the battle for deputy leadership entered its final period.

With voting among party members under way, her rival, Powell’s rival for the post, asserted if she won she would set up an official framework to convey grassroots and union opinions directly to government leaders on a regular basis.

Powell was sacked from the cabinet in last month’s reshuffle following Angela Rayner’s exit emerging as the frontrunner positioning as an independent voice, promising to present tough truths to the party leadership when necessary.

Speaking after a series of events with members, Powell expressed apprehension exists about the possible impact for Labour from Scottish and Welsh parliamentary races and councils across England next May, with Labour predicted to see heavy losses, many to Reform UK.

Powell, who was leader of the Commons before the reshuffle, said she was “not prepared to write off this hugely important set of elections” as inevitable midterm pushback, advocating for an ambitious fiscal plan in response.

“It’s not OK if we are losing capable Labour representatives and councils through no fault of their own, due to national-level errors,” she emphasized. “We must redefine our priorities so that more communities don’t wake up to Reform and other councils after election day in May.”

November’s budget must serve as “an opportunity to mark a break under our past mistakes, and show the country where our allegiance lies”, Powell said, saying it should lift the two-child benefit cap and make sure fairer distribution of tax responsibilities.

Speaking on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Phillipson, the education secretary, suggested she expects the restriction would be abolished.

“I firmly believe that we as a government will do the right thing for children in poverty across the nation,” she said. “We’ve initiated this effort. There’s more to do. I will make that happen.”

Phillipson argued in her capacity as minister she could guarantee direct representation of member concerns within senior government circles. Through an additional commitment, her campaign stated she would formally solicit views from members and trade unions every three months to present in this way.

She said: “The Labour party draws its strength from its members. That’s why I want to give them a stronger voice in governmental policy implementation, creating channels for communicating movement priorities.

“Only under my deputy leadership will member voices resonate distinctly at the cabinet table.”

Electronic voting among party members commenced recently continuing through October, results following two days after.