“We have to offer hope… the big change the country’s crying out for,” Lucy Powell told members after winning Labour’s deputy leadership on Saturday. The Manchester Central MP took 54% to beat education secretary Bridget Phillipson and said Labour must be “bolder,” stop trying to “out‑Reform Reform,” and “wrestle back the political megaphone” from Nigel Farage.

Powell secured 87,407 votes to Phillipson’s 73,536 on a low 16.6% turnout among 970,642 eligible voters - a clear, if not crushing, mandate. Her message was aimed squarely at members who feel unheard in government since July 2024.

The contest began with six names in the frame before the field narrowed to two once the Parliamentary Labour Party threshold was met. Phillipson started with more MPs and union backing, while Powell built momentum through constituency parties and endorsements in the North - including support linked to Andy Burnham’s Mainstream group. Unite sat the race out.

Powell’s win is a Manchester story with national reach. Sacked as Leader of the House in September’s reshuffle, she returns as deputy leader of the party - not deputy prime minister - after Keir Starmer named David Lammy to that government role. Even without a cabinet seat, Powell now sits on Labour’s NEC and takes on the party’s campaign brief.

Her victory lands at the end of a rough week for the government. Survivors quit the national grooming gangs inquiry and a prospective chair withdrew; police also hunted a convicted migrant sex offender released in error. In Wales, Labour lost the Caerphilly Senedd by‑election - a result Starmer called “a bad” reminder that people need to see change on their street.

Powell pitched herself as a conduit for members and northern MPs who want more grip and more ambition. She promised to “bring voices” that feel government “is not being bold enough” into the room - language that will resonate with Manchester activists she has worked alongside on building safety and leasehold reform from the Northern Quarter to Hulme.

For Bridget Phillipson, the message was unity. She congratulated Powell but urged Labour to focus on taking the fight to Reform at the Senedd, Holyrood and local elections next spring. That timetable puts pressure on the new deputy leader to rally volunteers and sharpen the party’s offer in places far from Westminster.

Greater Manchester’s mayor did not hide where he stood. Burnham’s camp backed Powell’s bid, and the Guardian noted she is closely associated with him - a signal that the North West expects a louder say over resources and campaigning ahead of May 2026.

The next immediate test is fiscal. Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers the Autumn Budget on Wednesday 26 November, with markets and town halls looking for clarity on tax and spending. Northern firms will read the small print on skills, transport and business rates while Powell presses her case for purpose and delivery.

Powell’s own words summed up the task: debate is not dissent; boldness matters; and Labour can’t win by chasing Farage’s talking points. For Manchester and the wider North, today’s result puts a familiar voice near the centre of campaign decisions just as a hard election year looms.