Labour’s Deputy Leader Dodges Question About Starmer Future

Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell has refused to say if she thinks Keir Starmer should continue as prime minister.

The party are expected to endure heavy losses in England’s local elections on Thursday after a gruelling two years in office.

Labour are also likely to lose control of the devolved Welsh government for the first time since devolution was introduced 30 years ago, and unlikely to beat the SNP in Scotland.

Pressure is mounting on Starmer to take the fall for the anticipated bloodbath, though the PM has insisted he will not be stepping down any time soon.

Even so, reports continue to suggest that his rivals – former deputy PM Angela Rayner, health secretary Wes Streeting and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham – are preparing to challenge him for No.10.

Powell, who was sacked as the Commons leader by Starmer last year, refused to give the PM clear backing in an interview on Sunday.

While sending a message to unhappy Labour MPs that “no one change” would help the party get back on the right track, she said: “I strongly believe that we’ve got the right agenda to start turning that around. To give people hope, an opportunity and see the change in their communities.”

Asked if Starmer was the correct person to deliver on those promises, the MP for Manchester Central said: “I’m not going to get into that.

“I think there’s no one change that [will affect] all of these situations. We’ve still got to tackle these big issues, and we’ve got to do it in the right way with the right values. Having some side order conversation about personnel and people, I think misses the point.”

She said: “If we get that wrong, then Nigel Farage is walking into Downing Street. We can all pretend that one switch over here would magically transform that. I just don’t believe that.”

Powell also told the Guardian there is “huge anger and despondency” within the party over the scandal surrounding Peter Mandelson.

Starmer’s decision to appoint the ex-Labour peer as the UK’s ambassador to the US, despite his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, caused fury within the party.

Mandelson has since been sacked but new details – including questions about his failed vetting status – continue to haunt the PM.

Powell is known to be a close friend to Burnham, who tried to run for the Gorton and Denton by-election but was blocked by Labour’s executive body.

Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.