We need a bridge between Labour and the Government - Lucy Powell
Angela Rayner leaves big heels to fill, but I’m proud that so many colleagues like Ed Miliband and Lou Haigh nominated me to walk in her footsteps as Deputy Leader.
My politics were shaped growing up across the Pennines under Thatcher, the devastation she caused repeated by another 14 years of the Tories.
I am Labour through and through - and I will always fight for the Labour movement and the communities we represent.
I know Labour succeeds when we draw on the strength of our broad movement and offer hope and bold change.
We are at our best when we are really clear about whose side we are on, and in whose interests we serve - when our values shine through.
As a full-time Deputy Leader, I will be that much-needed bridge between the Labour movement and government - a bridge that will otherwise be missing.
I was so proud of our general election win in 2024, winning back seats across Yorkshire on a wave of hope and change.
I’m proud to have served as Leader of the House of Commons in charge of transformative legislation: strengthening employment rights, railways and buses back in public hands, Great British Energy, renters rights and ending water bosses’ bonuses.
Change that will transform the country.
But people haven’t heard enough about these achievements - with many overshadowed by other mistakes.
We’ve got to turn this around because the stakes are too high. When we listen to more voices and experiences, we make better decisions which hold true to our values.
As Deputy Leader, I will bring these voices to the heart of our party and our government. I won’t snipe from the sidelines, but I will have the difficult conversations when we need to change course.
The fracturing and division taking over our democracy worries us all. We have a huge responsibility to get this right.
Travelling round the country in this campaign, I’ve seen the risk we face from all parties. Tacking one way or the other doesn’t work. Trying to out-Reform, Reform isn’t the answer.
We must tell a stronger story about what’s really wrong and how we are going to fix it. A story which recognises the economy as it stands has left behind communities in the North and left behind ordinary, working people. That’s what Labour governments fix. That’s whose side we are on and we need to be much clearer about that.
In the spirit of John Prescott, I would be that champion, hold up those voices. I would do that full-time, outside Cabinet but alongside the government - campaigning, communicating, listening and most of all being really clear about whose side Labour are on.
Lucy Powell is the MP for Manchester Central and is standing to be the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.