This result was never particularly in doubt. Lucy Powell continually polled ahead of her rival Bridget Phillipson, and now she has won. What made her triumph so predictable is just how patently unhappy people, including members of the Labour party, are with Keir Starmer and his progress after more than a year in government.
Polling from the end of September has his approval rating among members at -11. As I never tire of saying, a core thing to remember about internal Labour party contests is that party members – who, along with members of affiliated unions, form the voter base for such races – are fairly bog standard left liberals who like public services and Europe, and nationalising the railways and Ed Miliband. “Tough on immigration” doesn’t do so much for them. They are also often less politically engaged than you might expect, and should be understood separately from the party’s hardened activist class.
