UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Labour deputy contender Lucy Powell warns Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer against copying Reform UK, urging the party to stay true to its values.
As reported by The Telegraph, Labour deputy leadership hopefuls said Sir Keir Starmer should not follow Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Lucy Powell and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson warned Labour it would be wrong to try to “out-Reform” Nigel Farage.
How does Lucy Powell plan to reunite Labour voters?
During an interview on how she would secure election wins, Lucy Powell said,
“What I’m really clear about is we’ve got to reunite our whole voter coalition, we’ve got to reunite the country.”
She said,
“Because this is not just about out-Reforming Reform. In many of the elections that we’ve got next May we are losing just as many votes if not more to the other side.”
Ms Powell stated,
“So being tactical about it and trying to out-Reform Reform is not going to help us in those local elections next May […] We’ve got to seize back the political megaphone in this country because let’s be honest we ceded it for too long in recent months.”
She said voters are “sick of us going on about Nigel Farage all the time.”
What did Lucy Powell say about her role as deputy leader?
Lucy Powell stated,
“This is a party role, not a Government one. Having this debate is not dissent but an important conversation about how we can be better. Because we need to be. The stakes are too high if we don’t.”
She said,
“I would be a full-time deputy leader, a strong independent voice at the heart of what we do, not in the Cabinet but in every constituency, every council, every community. I will bring a political dimension to everything we do free from the constraints of government.”
Ms Powell stated,
“Because when we listen, when we reflect the views and experiences of our broad movement, when our values stand through, we are better, we make better decisions. I won’t shy away from the difficult conversations but I won’t swipe from the sidelines.”
She added,
“We all want, we all need this Government to succeed because as Keir, our leader, said yesterday, we are now in the fight of our lives. The future of our democracy depends on it. We must reunite the country.”
Ms Powell continued,
“Equipping us for this fight will be my full-time job. I want all of us to feel proud, to feel hope, to feel valued, and to be up for it. Together, we can win this fight of our lives.”
What did Lucy Powell say about Labour and young voters?
Lucy Powell warned that Labour is struggling to engage younger voters.
She said,
“We’ve got to be honest, we are not attracting young people to our movement in the way that we once did and that we should.”
Ms Powell stated,
“I’ve got a 21-year-old son and to be honest with you him and his friends actually really struggled with me being in the Labour Government this last 15 months because we’ve not got some of the politics right to enthuse young people, to make them see that a Labour Government, the Labour Party, is not just working on their behalf but we can make the change that they want to see.”
She added,
“Young people today have big ambitions, they don’t feel that the country is working in their interests… We’ve got to work with young people and not just sort of patronise them but also be where they’re at and be in the conversations that they’re having which I don’t think we’re doing as well as we could be.”
What warning did Lucy Powell give on Labour’s member engagement?
Lucy Powell warned that Keir Starmer’s government has not engaged sufficiently with Labour members.
She said,
“We’ve got to get a much better feedback loop, a much better bridge between the broad views of our movements and our representatives because that’s where we develop better policies.”
Ms Powell added,
“And let’s be honest, that has not been as good as it could have been in recent months.”
What did Bridget Phillipson say about taking on Reform UK?
Bridget Phillipson stated,
“I’m on the front line on this, I mean we’re all on the front line. We’ve got the fight of our lives in taking on Reform. Now we can’t ape them, we have to take them on in a way that is consistent with our values, Labour values, that are also the values of the British people.”
She said,
“We’re an outward, compassionate country where our diversity is our strength […] I would not be sat here talking to you were it not for the contribution that my grandparents made when they came to this country, worked in our NHS and that’s our national story. We should be proud of that and we should be proud of who we are… We’ve got to go further, we’ve got to do more, but it’s about the cost of living.”
Ms Phillipson added,
“It’s about the fact that working families need to feel better off and see in their lives and their communities the difference a Labour Government is making. So we’ll have to be bolder, we’ll have to do more. But I am up for that fight, it’s a fight we will win and as your deputy leader I’ll unite our party, take the fight to Reform, because divided parties don’t win elections and if we’re fighting among ourselves, we can’t be fighting Reform.”
What did Bridget Phillipson say about Labour’s next election?
Bridget Phillipson stated,
“Last year we came together to secure a Labour Government after 14 long years. This is a golden opportunity to change our country and we cannot lose it.”
She said,
“Now we face the spectre of Farage with his dangerous nationalism and immoral policies. I want us to turn this Government around, not to turn on each other. Change is on the ballot at the election, the choice is what kind of change.”
Ms Phillipson stated,
“You can choose to push our Government to be bolder, to go further, to do more with me as your voice at the Cabinet table, or you can choose division and disunity that fills the pages of the Right-wing papers and puts us back on the road to opposition.”
The education secretary added,
“I want to put Labour’s heart and soul back into government, continuing the legacy of John Prescott, Harriet Harman and Angela Rayner.”
She continued,
“If we don’t come together, we can’t build the better country we all want to see. We have crucial elections next year in Scotland, Wales and across England. We can’t afford to look inwards, the stakes are just too high. So back me to unite our party, deliver change and beat Reform so we can secure the second term of a Labour Government that we all want to see.”
How does Bridget Phillipson plan to tackle division and Reform UK?
Bridget Phillipson said Labour mishandled certain policies, including welfare reform, which was not done correctly.
She insisted that even the hardest day in government is better than any day Labour spent in opposition from 2010 to 2024.
When questioned about tackling division, Ms Phillipson said Labour must stay true to its values and warned that Reform UK is “plastic patriots” with no plan.
Key details about the Labour deputy leadership race
Bridget Phillipson is supported by 175 MPs and unions, including GMB, Unison, Community, Usdaw, and NUM. Lucy Powell, former Leader of the House of Commons, is backed by 117 MPs and unions including CWU, ASLEF, and the Fire Brigades Union (FBU).
The deputy leadership ballot opens on October 8, 2025, for eligible Labour members and affiliated supporters. It closes on October 23 at noon, with results announced on October 25, 2025.
YouGov’s poll about Labour and Conservative seats
Reform UK is projected to win 311 seats, while Labour would fall to 144. The Conservatives would get 45 seats and the Liberal Democrats 78. Smaller parties include SNP 37, Greens 7, and Plaid Cymru 6.
Labour is set to lose 231 seats to Reform UK, with other losses spread across SNP, Conservatives, Greens, and Lib Dems, signaling a major shift in UK politics.