Bridget Phillipson v Lucy Powell

One in 18 politicians who are Labour’s deputy leaders has a pessimistic view of the job.

“It’s truly terrible,” says Dame Margaret Beckett, who was second in command under John Smith in the 1990s. He thinks it’s a thankless task; It’s important but frankly a bit boring.

Well, it’s not boring right now. Labor is in disarray and the party needs to elect a new MP who can be part of Sir Keir Starmer’s salvation or, if things go wrong, make a bad situation worse.

So what is a job, who wants it, and what might happen next?

“It’s a bit of a funny and ambiguous role,” says a party insider.

There is no precise job description. Technically the deputy leader has a seat on Labour’s obscure but incredibly powerful National Executive Committee.

They attend not the weekly meeting of ministers, known as the political cabinet, but the meeting where the prime minister’s senior team meets less frequently, with civil servants thrown out of the room and party members barged in.

The MP also attends the weekly party parliamentary meeting with the prime minister, some elected reserve members and the leader of the Assembly.

The deputy leader will not automatically become the deputy prime minister (the official government substitute), and this time it won’t happen. That job was given David Lammy moved sideways from being minister of foreign affairs.

Another source says the MP is “chief campaigner” – a huge opportunity but also a long shot as Labor faces a very tough election in May.

Leaders can’t tell number two to shut up because they are being voted in by party members.

This dilemma lies at the heart of the rivalry this time.

On paper, the two candidates have a lot in common. Lucy Powell and Bridget Phillipson are outspoken politicians from the north of England.

Neither of them are from the far left of the Labor movement or ardent members of the New Labor fan tribe. But as one party source put it, Powell has played “one step to the left of Bridget” in the past few weeks.

Both have held senior positions and are well known in the party. There isn’t much going on among the public either.

A recent survey by YouGov 31 percent of people said they had heard of Phillipson, and 36 percent said they knew Powell.

Both are far less well-known than the woman they seek to replace; Angela Rayner (84%) later resigned. Not paying enough tax on his £800,000 flat in Hove, East SussexIt violates the ministerial code.

So what is the campaign really about?

The big difference is that Phillipson is in Starmer’s cabinet and Powell was sacked a few weeks ago.He claims Starmer gave him no reason to do so other than “making way” for someone else).

Powell had made clear during the campaign that he would speak his mind when things went wrong and argued that the government needed a “course correction” to avoid further political mistakes. processing of winter fuel allowance.

His supporters argue that the party would be stronger if he were brave enough to open up the debate to more people because, frankly, the clique around Starmer has – as many within the party see it – made a lot of mistakes.

A source told members he found it “offensive” that senior figures in the party had said “only someone on the prime minister’s good behavior list” should be considered for the post. The source said the deputy should be the “yin to No. 10’s yang.”

In this best-case scenario, the MP keeps a firm finger on the pulse of the party; So if ministers decide on a plan that members and MPs are unlikely to like, MPs can put on the brakes. Of course, if their opinions are taken into account.

Phillipson’s team argues that such a big voice from outside the cabinet would create a rival power base that could destabilize an already shaky political operation.

Picture the scene: The government ultimately decides it must continue with some welfare cuts, and ministers announce them. The MP is giving an interview and doesn’t look very convinced. In this case, MPs have the authority to protest and complain.

Downing Street’s plans look shaky and with many of the prime minister’s big ideas already abandoned, you know what’s coming next.

Here is Phillipson’s speech: Defending members’ desiresespecially to help children growing up in poverty, but make that case firmly but quietly from within, without becoming a lightning rod for dissidents.

And from the outside, his team says it will take on more of the work of convincing the public that the government is getting things done.

Phillipson will on Sunday promise members more power over decision-making and will formally ask members and unions for their views every three months, using a new app or via the existing party website, rather than just speaking to his own MP at constituency meetings.

He also promises ministers will hold direct meetings with party members online and change the rules on how the party makes policy.

For example, when Ed Miliband became leader, Labor opened the National Policy Forum (NPF), the party’s official planning machine, to outside organisations. Since then charities, campaign groups and even major companies such as Primark and Vodafone have been able to pitch their ideas to him.

I am told that Phillipson has promised to change the rules so that only members or organizations with formal links to the party can submit their ideas to the NPF for official consideration.

In practical terms, Labor leaders make the final decisions, but how the party is structured is also crucial; especially for members.

So who’s on track to win?

Shock horror in a political campaign, you’d be surprised to find both women caricatured.

Powell is not a wild rebel intent on wreaking havoc (he was in cabinet until a few weeks ago), nor is Phillipson an automaton stuck within the confines of agreed government lines (not that long ago). target of negative briefings self).

You’ll be surprised to learn that there’s been some back-and-forth chatter between the two sides, not really: Phillipson’s allies accuse Powell of not being willing to participate in TV broadcasts; Powell’s allies say this is nonsense. Phillipson claims Powell will be “divisive”; Powell responded to Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday last weekend, saying it was “ridiculous.”

Both are campaigning nationwide and participating in at least 20 in-person and online events with members.

Phillipson has more MPs and more unions on his side. Powell has more constituency party support and more from other affiliates like the Labor Lawyers Association.

The party’s decision depends in part on whether it wants a politician to represent its members’ voices from outside the upper echelons of government or, more discreetly, from within.

No matter who wins, relationships and personalities will shape what happens. Beyond official duties, the role of deputy leader has been fulfilled in many different ways and by very different characters in recent history.

A steady, loyal hand to help a busy leader, shaking hands and munching sandwiches at party events, where the prime minister has no time to attend and, as Dame Margaret suggests, making a vital campaign grunt.

Or a pressure valve for a leader that sometimes moves him up the ranks. Consider John Prescott’s booming tones, which connected with some voters and party members who weren’t too fond of Tony Blair’s silky nonsense.

Or an MP struggling to represent the party in parliament in fierce opposition to the more violent elements of the leader’s tribe. Consider the clashes between Tom Watson and Jeremy Corbyn during the party’s last civil war.

This time, the contest, in which there are no radical differences between the two candidates, offers members a chance to decide on leadership and vent their frustrations.

The truth is that many members, like Labor MPs, are disgruntled and disappointed with some of the decisions Starmer and his team have made. Some are dismayed by the party’s dismal position in the polls, 18 months after a resounding election victory.

So, as it stands, most Labor sources and the limited polling available show Powell as the favorite to win the job. Even a member of the cabinet told me earlier this week: “We all know it’s going to be Lucy.”

We all know by now that politics has an endless capacity for surprise and that not all votes are cast. Phillipson will join us in the studio tomorrow, following Powell’s appearance last week, where he will argue his case.

But Starmer’s perspective would be strange if party members voiced their disappointment by electing Powell. One source suggested: “Lucy’s sacking after five weeks, showing she is the party’s favorite slam dunk candidate, feeds the narrative of Keir’s non-Midas touch – ouch.”

This may not be “terrible”, but it seems like a decision Labor members are prepared to make.

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