Lucy Powell has accused Bridget Phillipson’s campaign of “mud-slinging” and covertly briefing against her, intensifying tensions in Labour’s deputy leadership race just days before the result is announced.
Speaking on a special edition of Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the duo were asked questions on claims of leaks, intra-party divisions, and their contrasting visions for Labour’s future.
Powell, who insists she has “never leaked or briefed,” alleged that negative media stories about her appear to have been fuelled by her rival’s team. “I think some of these things have also come from my opponent’s camp,” she said. “We are two strong women in this race, but I’m not going to play the game of smears or backroom briefings. Throwing mud—either during this contest or afterwards if I’m elected—is not what I’m about.”
Her remarks were a direct response to a claim made by a “Labour source” in the New Statesman last week, alleging Powell was dismissed from cabinet because she “couldn’t be trusted not to leak or brief.” Powell said she had discussed the issue with Phillipson “a little bit,” though their accounts differ.
When asked if her team had been involved in any briefing against Powell, Phillipson replied, “Not to my knowledge,” adding that she had not personally spoken to Powell about the accusations.
Phillipson, the current Education Secretary, also suggested that electing Powell—who was recently sacked as Leader of the Commons by Sir Keir Starmer—could destabilise the party. “There’s a risk in showing too much division publicly when we should be focused on taking the fight to our opponents,” she argued. “Lucy would disagree, but that’s the choice members are facing.”
She maintained that staying within government would allow her to “get more done,” while hinting that an external deputy could complicate Labour’s unity and message discipline.
Powell, in contrast, positioned herself as an independent voice capable of revitalising the party’s grassroots. “The party is withering while government moves slowly,” she said. “We need a full-time political deputy leader who can re-energise our movement.”
The winner will be announced on Saturday, 25 October. The deputy leader role—vacant since Angela Rayner’s resignation over her tax affairs—remains one of Labour’s most influential positions, linking the party’s membership with MPs and holding an independent mandate that prevents dismissal by the party leader. Rayner’s other position, deputy prime minister, has already been filled by David Lammy in a wider cabinet reshuffle.
