Sir Keir Starmer’s newly-elected deputy is believed to be “in cahoots” with Andy Burnham in a bid to topple the Prime Minister from the inside-out.
The Manchester MP was up against Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to succeed Angela Rayner as deputy leader of the party, after she resigned from the post last month.
“I think this is very bad news for Keir Starmer. He wanted Bridget Phillipson to win. She was seen as the No10 candidate,” Olivia Utley told GB News presenter Dawn Neesom.
She further added that Ms Powell’s victory was Labour Party members “showing their discontent with Keir Starmer” from the grassroots.
But also the ex-Leader of the Commons is expected to “cause issues within Labour”.
“She’s in cahoots with Andy Burnham, who is very much seen as the challenger to Keir Starmer,” Olivia added.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Mr Burnham has similarly ramped up campaign efforts which appeared to challenge Sir Keir’s position in the party.
In addition to whispered murmurings among MPs within the halls of Westminster, Mr Burnham established soft-left think tank Mainstream, which Olivia claimed to be a campaign platform.
Now, compounded with the devastating Caerphilly by-election defeat which revealed a “two-horse race” between Plaid Cymru and Reform UK, Mainstream asserted that voters’ patience is “wearing thin” as “faith in Labour is slipping away” under Sir Keir.
Now, the Burnham-backing faction has issued an even more chilling warning to the Labour leader, saying that the party will be demolished in Wales next May “without a major reset”.
The faction added: “Time is short. We promised the British people a decade of national renewal.
“Their patience is wearing thin, and their faith in Labour is slipping away.”
On Thursday, Labour plummeted to just 3,713 votes (11 per cent) in the Valleys town on Thursday, a backslide of a humiliating 34.9 per cent compared to 2021.
Plaid Cymru reigned victorious with 15,961 votes, while Nigel Farage’s party came second with 12,113 votes.
As a result, a number of Labour MPs have admitted that the defeat was a “tragedy but not a surprise”.
The body warned: “So long as UK Labour governs without a clear vision, detached from its moral purpose and democratic socialist foundations, losses like this will only become more frequent.
“A majority of voters in Caerphilly turned to Plaid Cymru and a significant number to Reform because they want change.”
Lucy Powell won the race against Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson
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PA
Now, with freshly-elected Lucy Powell being handed the keys to the Cabinet table, Olivia further emphasised that Sir Keir’s “inward-looking” tendencies could be in for a shock.
“The way she’s pitching it is she’s not up against Keir Starmer, she’s just representing members and that she is going to be the bridge between the members and the leadership,” Olivia assessed.
But Olivia pointed to a number of “thinly-veiled digs” at the Holborn and St Pancras MP in her acceptance speech.
“We must give a stronger sense of our purpose, whose side we are on and of our Labour values and beliefs,” the Manchester Central MP declared on Saturday morning.
“People feel that this Government is not being bold enough in delivering the kind of change we promised.”
But, early on Saturday after the announcement, former chairwoman of the Labour Party Baroness Hayter refuted the claims.
“Good luck with your digging. But I really didn’t see that,” she told GB News presenters Charlie Peters and Olivia Utley.
“What I saw was a woman who’s a great campaigner. You know, she’s been out amongst party members. She’s won the vote.
“In fact, they both did very well. You know, there’s a lot of votes out there for both of them.”