Labour’s new deputy leader has insisted her party can win the Scottish election next year by uniting against the politics of hate and division.
In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Mail Lucy Powell also warned Prime Minister Keir Starmer not to allow the government at Westminster to “stand in the way” of victory at Holyrood.
She vowed to help rebuild support for her party after a humiliating by-election defeat to Plaid Cymru in Wales, and with Labour trailing far behind the SNP in polls.
Powell said: “We need to convey a much stronger and clearer sense of purpose and values and whose side we are on. We are doing some really good things to help people and we need to beat that drum every single day.
“What I am sure about is that there can’t be anything we do as a UK Labour Government that stands in the way of Anas Sarwar winning in Scotlandnext May.
“Obviously it was a bad result for us in Wales, there is no sugar coating it but I don’t think you can translate that across to Scotland completely.
“We had a similar by-election in Hamilton and we came through there by being a progressive alliance against the politics of hate and division espoused by Nigel Farage.
“That is how we have won in Scotland in the recent past and that is what we have to now do and one of the first conversations that I will be having is with Anas Sarwar.”
Powell will be free to speak out against her government’s policies from the back benches rather than being bound by collective responsibility like her defeated deputy leadership rival, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.
She won with 54 per cent of the vote despite Phillipson being the favoured candidate of Starmer’s inner circle.
Her election is a blow to the Prime Minister’s authority given that he sacked Powell from his Cabinet earlier this year.
Unlike previous deputy leaders Powell has suggested she will refuse a return to a government role so she can speak more openly about the direction of the party in office.
In a challenge to the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, she suggested next month’s critical Budget had to address the cost of living crisis.
She said: “Rewiring and reshaping the economy is absolutely critical to showing whose side we are on and what the purpose of this Labour Government is.
“Budgets come around once a year and they set the agenda and we want to see a budget that is about fairness and about supporting those who need support the most and addressing the cost of living crisis and I am sure that is what Rachel and Keir will be looking to deliver.”
The deputy leadership contest was triggered by Angela Rayner’s resignation over a tax row.
She had been Starmer’s deputy since he became leader in 2020.Powell, the MP for Manchester Central, was considered to be the more left wing candidate.
She has also been a critic of Labour’s attempts to attract Reform voters with right wing rhetoric.
She added: “We have got to do the work to rebuild and reunite our broad voter coalition and recognise that we can’t and shouldn’t try to out-Reform Reform because when we do we lose more votes the other way.
“I am going to be making sure that we do that work and we do it quickly. I don’t think it is a factional left or right thing, it is just that we need to have a clear sense of purpose and I think I can help to convey that better.
“Voters in Scotland are very savvy and well informed people and they know that these elections in May are about.
“The fact is that the SNP has not got a good track record and they have had almost 20 years in government.
“Many of the public services that people rely on have got worse in that time and we have got a good story and my job as deputy leader is to ensure we can support that as best we can so that this year doesn’t become about other things but is about what is actually on the ballot paper next May.
“I think Anas Sarwar is brilliant.
“We are incredibly lucky to have him, people know what he is about, he is an authentic strong communicator and I will be led and guided by him really in terms of what he needs from the UK Government. I believe he can absolutely become Scottish First Minister.”
During her campaign Powell insisted Labour leaders needed to listen to a wider range of voices and opinions to avoid political missteps.
In June, the Government was forced into a U-turn over cuts to welfare spending, which Powell blamed on the failure of Starmer’s team to listen to MPs.
The SNP has posted a significant lead over Labour in recent opinion polls. John Swinney’s party was a massive 17 points ahead in September, with Nigel Farage’s Reform within touching distance of knocking the Labour Party into third place.
It has led many to call for a more stridently left wing policy agenda.
Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth Brian Leishman said: “We need to do a lot better at prioritising people’s living standards and we need to come up with industrialisation after decades of de-industrialisation.We need to change the world with classic labour values of redistributing wealth across the country.
“I implore the Chancellor in her budget next month to redistribute by looking at a wealth tax on multi-millionaires with assets of over £10million.
“One in six Scottish adults are living in food insecurity and that is a complete scandal.”
He added: “We need to get going because people cannot afford to wait.”
