Lucy Powell says Labour has ‘no magic bullet’ as MPs brace for heavy losses in local elections

‘We are in a difficult world,’ Powell says in an interview on the campaign trail in Leeds. Photograph: Joel Goodman/The Guardian

Labour’s deputy leader has warned there will be “no magic bullet” to solve Labour’s problems – or major challenges facing the country – as its MPs grapple with how to navigate the fallout out from the local elections.

Lucy Powell told the Guardian she understood there was “huge anger and despondency” from Labour MPs in the aftermath of the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal, but said the prime minister would not make a similar mistake again.