Is there no end to the sufferings of Keir Starmer? To borrow the line from the Labour campaign song, it may well be that things can only get worse before they can only get better, and straight after the humiliating loss in the Caerphilly by-election comes the widely expected arrival of Lucy Powell as his deputy. She is on course to beat his preferred candidate, education secretary Bridget Phillipson.
Unlike lost elections, difficult Budgets and policy U-turns that are at least one-off events a leader can move on from, Powell will be a permanent irritation. Or worse.
What sort of a deputy would Powell be?
Awkward. That’s not so unusual in Labour history – indeed Starmer had some clashes with Angela Rayner during their time in opposition – but it’s obviously better if
Continue Reading on The Independent
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.