🔗 Share this article

The Labour Party is ready to declare its new deputy chief today, with polling data suggesting Lucy Powell leading Bridget Phillipson as balloting closed on the previous Thursday.

Today's Schedule of Events

Below is the political schedule for today, based on the PA news agency:

• 10am: The party's deputy chief will be announced in London. Addresses are anticipated afterwards from the victor and the PM.
• 1pm: Demonstrators from rival factions are likely to gather in different sides of London after police banned Ukip activists from gathering in an East London area due to concerns of serious disorder.
• Saturday: Vote counting starts to reveal the new head of state of Ireland.

Meanwhile, the Epping Forest MP Conservative MP Neil Hudson is on the media interviews for the Tory party.

Campaign Highlights and Candidate Positions

Throughout the campaign, Lucy Powell frequently mentioned mistakes made by the party on issues such as the winter fuel allowance. In a closing statement to supporters, she appeared to criticise a command and control approach within the administration, arguing that blindly following along was a dereliction of duty.

If Powell wins, the outcome is expected to be seen as a rebuke to the prime minister's governance from party members.

The prime minister has already endured a difficult week, marked by a dispute over the grooming gangs investigation and a defeat in the Senedd byelection in Caerphilly.

Labour’s struggles in the polls have sparked doubts among MPs about the leader's position.

Powell has emphasized that she wants to help Keir and our government to succeed but also told supporters the party needs to adapt how it functions to improve the situation.

Meanwhile, Bridget Phillipson, seen as the prime minister's preferred candidate, has stressed unity, warning that choosing her opponent would result in party disputes and divisions that could return the party back to opposition.

Additional News Highlights

• Reducing the annual cash Isa allowance may not encourage savers to invest in stocks but could increase home loan rates, lawmakers have warned the chancellor.
• A heavy defeat for the Labour Party in next May’s local elections could spell the end of Keir Starmer’s premiership, parliamentarians have said, after the party experienced a significant loss in its Welsh heartland.
• The former prime minister was the sole MP sent a witness statement by the deputy national security adviser implicated in a dispute over the collapse of a case against two British men accused of espionage for China.

The outcome of the deputy leadership election is expected to be declared at 10am BST.