Powell put her name forward as a candidate for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party on 9 September 2025,subject to endorsement from 80 Labour MPs and two unions by 11 September 2025.[4]
She joined the pro-Euro and pro-EU Treaty pressure group Britain in Europe (BiE),originally in a public relations role and later as head of regional campaigning. She replaced Simon Buckby as Campaign Director of BiE. In this capacity,she worked with Chris Patten,Neil Kinnock,Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander.[8]
After BiE was wound down in June 2005 because of the referendum "No" votes in France and the Netherlands,she worked for the non-departmental public body or quango NESTA (the National Endowment for Science,Technology and the Arts),initially in a public affairs role and later to establish and manage the Manchester Innovation Fund project.
From May 2010 to September 2010 Powell managed Ed Miliband's successful campaign for the Labour Party leadership.[9] She then served as Ed Miliband's acting and later deputy chief of staff from September 2010 to April 2012.
Powell was elected as MP for Manchester Central at the 2012 Manchester Central by-election,winning the election with 69.1% of the vote and a majority of 9,936 votes.[11]
Powell first joined the opposition frontbench in October 2013 as Shadow Childcare and Early Years Minister,[12] and entered the Shadow Cabinet of Ed Miliband in November 2014 as Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office.
Powell was appointed vice-chair of the 2015 general election campaign by Ed Miliband,[13] in which Labour suffered a net loss of 26 seats,including a net loss of 40 seats in Scotland.[14][15] She was heavily criticised for apparently suggesting that Labour's election pledges were liable to be broken:in talking about the EdStone,she commented:"I don't think anyone is suggesting that the fact that he's carved them into stone means that he is absolutely not going to break them or anything like that." She said that she had been quoted out of context.[16] She was responsible for Ed Miliband's interview with Russell Brand,described as a PR blunder.[17] As a result of these actions coupled to the result,Tanya Gold,writing for The Sunday Times,described her as "discredited".[18] In response to the result,Powell stated,"I bear my share of responsibility in this".[19]
Powell was re-elected as MP for Manchester Central at the 2015 general election with a decreased vote share of 61.3% and an increased majority of 21,639.[20][21] In the subsequent 2015 Labour Party leadership election,she nominated Andy Burnham.[22]
During her period on the backbenches,she focused on issues including online harms and digital regulation,co-founding the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Social Media and calling for stronger safeguards against harmful content and misinformation.[28] She also introduced a Private Member’s Bill on online hate speech,proposing tighter controls on tech companies’responsibilities for harmful content.[29] Powell took an interest in housing and local government,campaigning on cladding and building safety issues after the Grenfell Tower fire,[30] and raising concerns about urban regeneration projects in Manchester. She also sat on the Commons Science and Technology Committee,contributing to inquiries into data use,digital policy,and the impact of automation.[31]
At the snap 2017 general election,Powell was again re-elected,with an increased vote share of 77.4% and an increased majority of 31,445.[32]
In September 2017,the political commentator Iain Dale placed Powell at Number 81 in The 100 Most Influential People on the Left.[33]
At the 2019 general election,Powell was again re-elected,with a decreased vote share of 70.4% and a decreased majority of 29,089.[34]
On 9 April 2020,Powell rejoined the Labour front bench when she was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers by new party leader Keir Starmer.[35] In the May 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle,she was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet as the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing,succeeding Thangam Debbonaire.[36] During her tenure,she set out Labour’s housing priorities at the party conference,including plans to expand the construction of council and social housing,establish a Building Works Agency to oversee building safety,and reform compulsory purchase rules to enable local authorities to acquire land for development.[37] She also argued that housing policy should prioritise affordability and security rather than investment value.[38]
In the November 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle,Powell was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Digital,Culture,Media and Sport.[39] Whilst in this post,Powell described herself as a "tech optimist".[40] In the role,she criticised the government’s handling of the BBC licence fee settlement and argued for the corporation’s long-term financial stability.[41] She opposed privatisation of Channel 4,describing it as a commercially successful public asset whose sale would harm the independent production sector.[42] Powell also supported measures to strengthen protections for the creative industries,advocated reforms to online safety regulation,and promoted greater access to cultural education.[43]
In the 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle,Powell was appointed Shadow Leader of the House of Commons in a direct job swap with Thangam Debbonaire.[44] In her role,she actively promoted improvements to parliamentary standards and conduct. She advocated strengthening sanctions against misconduct,notably in response to proposals to exclude MPs arrested on suspicion of violent or sexual offences,and criticised attempts to curtail the Standards Committee’s powers following the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal.[45] Powell also proposed the launching of major initiatives to modernise Parliament,including the establishment of inquiries into access,family-friendly working practices and simplified parliamentary language,and advancing reforms on second jobs and cultural behaviour standards.[46][47][48]
In February 2024,Powell was centrally involved in the Gaza ceasefire vote controversy. When the Speaker of the House of Commons departed from precedent by allowing Labour’s amendment to be voted on —and passed —unopposed after the government withdrew its amendment,Powell defended Labour’s advocacy for a more representative debate and urged broader humility among MPs. She described the episode as a “humiliation of vanity”and offered an “olive branch”to restore parliamentary trust and functionality.[49][50]
At the 2024 general election,Powell was again re-elected,but with a lower vote share of 50.8% and a smaller majority of 13,797.[51]
Leader of the House of Commons (2024–2025)
Cabinet portrait,2024Powell (pictured on the left) on the frontbench of the Starmer Ministry on 17 July 2024.
On 25 July 2024,she secured parliamentary approval to re-establish the Commons Modernisation Committee,which had been abolished under the previous Conservative government.[54] As Leader of the Commons,she concurrently served as chair of the committee and oversaw its remit to review parliamentary procedure,standards,and workplace culture.
During her tenure,Powell introduced reforms limiting MPs from holding paid consultancy and advisory roles,[55] and expanded induction and standards training for newly elected members.[56] She supported improved accessibility for disabled MPs through wider use of call lists,[57] and initiated cross-party discussions on the potential adoption of electronic voting to reduce the length of divisions.[58] In March 2025,Powell organised the first official photograph of all 263 women MPs elected in 2024 to mark the highest female representation in Commons history.[59] She also advised against the closure of parliamentary social facilities on security grounds,[60] and stated her opposition to proposals to criminalise lying in public office,citing existing parliamentary sanctions as sufficient.[61] On 20 March 2025,Powell launched an inquiry into improving physical and procedural accessibility within Parliament,soliciting evidence on short- and medium-term adaptations to the parliamentary estate and simplifying the language used in proceedings so they are more comprehensible to both members and the public.[62] She emphasised the importance of measures such as proxy voting extensions—covering fertility treatment,baby leave,and pregnancy complications—as part of efforts to make parliamentary participation more family-friendly and flexible.[63] In line with this,she oversaw formal motions amending the Guide to the Rules to restrict paid consultancy and advisory work for MPs,reinforcing ethics and weakening potential conflicts of interest in early rulings of the committee’s term.
In September 2024,Powell warned there could have been a "run on the pound" if the government had not made urgent spending cuts in July,including severe limitations to pensioner Winter Fuel Payments which received heavy criticism. The Financial Times reported several financial experts refuted this claim,including Ben Zaranko from the Institute for Fiscal Policy,who said this suggestion was "silly".[64][65]
In May 2025,Powell described discussion of rape gangs as a "dog whistle",which was condemned by survivors of the abuse.[66]Reform UK called her comments "abhorrent" and asked the Prime Minister to consider sacking Powell,[67] while the Conservatives called on her to resign.[68] She subsequently apologised and received the full backing of the Prime Minister's Office.[69]
On 5 September 2025,Powell was dismissed from her position as Leader of the House of Commons as part of a cabinet reshuffle following the resignation of then Deputy Prime MinisterAngela Rayner.[70] Powell was reported to have been unhappy with her dismissal by Starmer. A Labour source stated that "she was heads and shoulders above" some colleagues who were retained and that,during her time in government,she was also reported to have had disagreements with Morgan McSweeney,the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff. Her removal,along with that of several other ministers from the North West of England,reportedly raised concerns within the party about regional representation in the government.[71][72]
Government backbencher (2025–)
2025 Labour Deputy Leadership campaign
Following her dismissal as Leader of the Commons,Andy Burnham,the incumbent Mayor of Greater Manchester,endorsed a prospective campaign of Powell in the 2025 Labour Party deputy leadership election,expressing his dissatisfaction with her removal from the government. Powell later confirmed she was thinking about standing after being encouraged by colleagues.[73] She was an early front-runner in the contest to replace Rayner,with Labour MPs reportedly "coalescing" around her to enter the contest.[74][72] On 9 September 2025,Powell confirmed her candidacy in the election,platforming her campaign on "uniting" the party's "broad voter coalition" and "championing" backbenchers.[75][76][77] The deputy leadership race established Powell as the direct challenger to front-runner Bridget Phillipson,with former Labour MP Tom Blenkinsop describing the race as "a proxy war between Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham". Her campaign also saw backing from the Tribune Group of soft-left Labour MPs.[78] On 11 September 2025,fellow candidate Paula Barker withdrew from the leadership race,pledging to nominate Powell's campaign instead.[79]
Powell campaigned for the UK to remain in the European Union (EU) in the 2016 Brexit referendum and advocated for a “Common Market 2.0”—a soft Brexit model involving single-market and customs union alignment,designed to maintain close economic relations while respecting parliamentary sovereignty.[86] Powell consistently supported measures maintaining close ties to the EU,including backing a confirmatory referendum on any negotiated withdrawal deal.[87]
She is married to James Williamson,a consultant in emergency medicine,and they have three children:a stepson,a daughter,and a son.[2][88]
In 2021,Powell was named among 115 Members of Parliament identified as landlords. She disputed this characterisation,stating on social media:"I have a lodger. I'm not a landlord." Housing lawyer Nick Bano,writing in Jacobin,argued that this distinction was legally irrelevant,asserting that lodgers still lack basic housing protections. He described Powell’s response as "defensive" and criticised what he saw as a failure to recognise the potential conflict between rent collection during a housing crisis and the duties of elected representatives.[89]
↑ Patrick Wintour (24 September 2004). "Kinnock joins Europe campaign". The Guardian. London, UK. Archived from the original on 28 August 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
↑ Gold, Tanya (31 May 2015). "It's all about the Brand". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 6 August 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.(subscription required)
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