Lucy Powell: Labour a ‘bit of a boys club’ and needs to be ‘more inclusive’

Read time: 4 mins

In brief…

• Lucy Powell tells The News Agents that the top level of government needs to be more inclusive, and end the “boys club” mentality that exists since the departure of Angela Rayner.
• Powell denies claims that she corralled Labour rebels to vote against the government on welfare reforms, saying she was simply listening to, and feeding back on, MPs' concerns.
• She says her strength in the race to become deputy leader is her willingness to oppose government decisions, and says she will be a voice for the membership.

What’s the story?

Lucy Powell, challenging Bridget Philipson to become Labour’s next deputy leader, says the “boys club” of Keir Starmer’s government needs a “cultural reset”.

Speaking with The News Agents, she says Labour needs to be more inclusive, and more open.

“We need to recognise that unity of purpose doesn't come from command and control, or strong-arming people, but comes from winning the argument and taking people with us,” Powell tells Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall.

“There's a bit of a boys club about it, there have been some strong women working there as well, although some of those have left of late.”

The contest for deputy leader began after Angela Rayner stepped down in September 2025.

"I think we need a more inclusive approach, and a more open approach,” she adds.

“We need to recognise that actually, when people are raising concerns, that's not disloyalty, that's because they want us to make the right decisions, and they want us to make good judgements.”

Raising concerns is what Powell is staking her bid for the senior role on.

While campaigning for the deputy leader role, Powell has criticised the Labour government's cuts to welfare – including the now-reversed cuts to winter fuel payments, and changes to disability benefits.

Jon claims insiders at No.10 said Powell acted as "chief whip for the rebels" in voting against welfare reforms, a claim Powell says is "ridiculous".

"What I was doing was feeding back the issues, feeding back people's concerns," she says.

"I spent a huge amount of time talking to colleagues, trying to persuade colleagues, and feeding back people's concerns.

"If that has been taken as being some sort of lead rebel, then that is fundamentally not true.”

Bridget Phillipson has said that members voting for Powell risks "energising" the government's opponents.

This, she says, is a "ludicrous suggestion".

When asked if she likes Starmer, Powell says she wants him to succeed and be successful, that she gets on with all her colleagues, and that she has even attended football with the PM.

Powell says she wants to pull Labour back from the narrow "groupthink" she claims exists at the top of the government, and be a voice for the groups it has always sought to represent.

"It's a narrow set of voices in the cabinet, and it's not as connected as it needs to be.

"We're at our best when we really represent those broader voices, and I think that's what I can bring to the table."

The next big milestone for Starmer's government will be Rachel Reeves' winter budget, which may not align with the approach Powell wants to bring to government.

But Powell again insists her differences in opinion will be a benefit to the role.

"The role I describe is to make sure that we can tell a really compelling story about what we are doing, and what the purpose of the Labour Government is," Powell says.

"That starts with economic fairness. For me, being really clear that we want a fairer economy that works for working people. Trickle-down economics just hasn't worked for ordinary people.

"We do need to have more urgency around lifting the two child benefit cap, because every day that that's in place, more and more kids go into poverty."

Powell says she has had a "brief conversation" with Starmer about her goals for the role, what had motivated her to stand and how she would support him.

Powell believes, if successful, she would be the "voice of the membership", rather than another MP toeing the government line.

"The tradition of this job has never been someone who's appointed by the leader, who the leader actually wants or prefers to have – the party members choose directly," she says.

"Often, what they do is they choose someone who can bring something additional to the table, who has a complementary character and role.

"I think that's why more and more members are backing my campaign."

Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.