Lucy Powell appointed new deputy leader of the Labour Party

Lucy Powell has been appointed as the new deputy leader of the Labour Party, replacing Angela Rayner after she resigned amid a tax scandal.

Phillipson was seen as the government-favoured candidate, with Powell recently being kicked out of government in the reshuffle that came following Rayner’s departure.

The deputy leadership contest was triggered after Rayner stood down in September as deputy leader of the Labour Party, housing secretary and deputy prime minister, over a row about her tax affairs.

The prime minister’s ethics adviser found she had breached the ministerial code over whether she had paid enough stamp duty when buying a home in Brighton.

Powell succeeds Rayner as deputy leader of the Labour Party, a position directly elected by Labour’s members.

Rayner’s former government jobs, deputy prime minister and housing secretary, have been taken by David Lammy and Steve Reed, respectively.

Angela Rayner resigned from government last month. / Credit: PA

Rayner had referred herself to the standards watchdog for investigation after she admitted she had paid as much as £40,000 less surcharge than she should have done on the purchase in May.

Sir Laurie Magnus, the prime minister’s ethics adviser, had found she had “acted with integrity” over the issue.

Rayner was emotional in the Commons as she spoke in the chamber for the first time since she stood down earlier this week.

Rayner, whose hands were shaking as she read her statement, said: “The last few weeks have been incredibly tough on my family.”

She added: “I’ve always believed in the highest standards of transparency and accountability, and it is what the public expects and it is the price we pay for the privilege of service.”

There have already been calls for Rayner to return to government since her departure. At Labour’s party conference in Liverpool, Health Secretary Wes Streeting told members: “We need her back.”