Lucy Powell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lucy Powell
MP
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Official portrait, 2024
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| Leader of the House of Commons Lord President of the Council |
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| Assumed office 5 July 2024 |
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| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Penny Mordaunt | ||||||||||||||
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| Member of Parliament for Manchester Central |
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| Assumed office 15 November 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Tony Lloyd | ||||||||||||||
| Majority | 13,797 (34.7%) | ||||||||||||||
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| Born |
Lucy Maria Powell
10 October 1974 Manchester, England |
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| Political party | Labour Co-op | ||||||||||||||
| Spouse | James Williamson | ||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Education | Parrs Wood High School Xaverian College |
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| Alma mater | Somerville College, Oxford King's College London |
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Lucy Maria Powell (born 10 October 1974) is a British politician. She has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Manchester Central since 2012. Since July 2024, she has served as the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council. She is a member of the Labour and Co-operative parties.
Before becoming an MP, Lucy Powell worked in different roles involving public relations and political campaigns. She also held various important positions within the Labour Party.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Lucy Powell was born in Moss Side, Manchester, on 10 October 1974. She went to Beaver Road Primary School and Parrs Wood High School in Didsbury. Later, she studied for her A-levels at Xaverian College.
She then went on to study chemistry at the University of Oxford, where she was a student at Somerville College, Oxford. She also studied at King's College London.
Political Career Journey
Early Work and Campaigning
Lucy Powell started her career working for a Member of Parliament, Beverley Hughes. This was after she had worked at the Labour Party Headquarters during the 1997 general election campaign.
She later joined a group called Britain in Europe (BiE), which supported the Euro currency and the EU Treaty. She first worked in public relations and then became the head of regional campaigning. She eventually became the Campaign Director for BiE. In this role, she worked with well-known politicians like Chris Patten and Neil Kinnock.
After BiE closed down in 2005, she worked for an organization called NESTA. This group supports science, technology, and the arts. She helped set up and manage a project called the Manchester Innovation Fund.
From 2010 to 2012, Lucy Powell played a key role in Ed Miliband's successful campaign to become the leader of the Labour Party. After he won, she served as his deputy chief of staff.
Becoming a Member of Parliament
Lucy Powell first tried to become an MP for Manchester Withington in 2007. In the 2010 general election, she came second in that area.
In 2012, she was elected as the MP for Manchester Central in a special election called a by-election. She won with a large number of votes.
Roles in the Shadow Cabinet
In October 2013, Lucy Powell joined the opposition team as a Shadow Minister for Childcare and Early Years. A year later, in November 2014, she became part of the Shadow Cabinet as the Shadow Cabinet Office Minister. The Shadow Cabinet is a group of senior politicians from the main opposition party who act as a "shadow" government, watching over the real government's departments.
She was involved in the 2015 general election campaign for the Labour Party. After the election, she was re-elected as the MP for Manchester Central.
On 13 September 2015, she was appointed as the Shadow Secretary of State for Education by the new Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn. In this role, she suggested that free schools and academies should be controlled by local education authorities. She resigned from this role in June 2016, along with many other shadow cabinet members, due to disagreements with Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.
Lucy Powell was re-elected as MP for Manchester Central in the 2017 and 2019 general elections, each time with a strong majority.
In September 2018, she proposed new laws in Parliament to help control hate speech and false information on private online groups. She is also a member of Labour Friends of Israel.
Recent Shadow Cabinet Roles
In April 2020, Lucy Powell rejoined the Labour front bench as the Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers. This was under the new party leader, Keir Starmer. In May 2021, she was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet as the Shadow Secretary of State for Housing.
In November 2021, she became the Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. In this role, she said she was a "tech optimist", meaning she believes technology can bring many good things.
She was re-elected as MP for Manchester Central in the 2024 general election.
Leader of the House of Commons (2024–)
After the Labour Party won the 2024 general election, Lucy Powell was given two very important jobs. On 5 July, she was appointed the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council by the new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. The Leader of the House of Commons is responsible for managing the government's business in the House of Commons.
Personal Life
Lucy Powell is married to James Williamson, who is an emergency medicine doctor. They have three children together.
She is a fan of the football team Manchester City F.C..
On 6 July 2024, Lucy Powell became a member of the Privy Council. This means she can now be called "The Right Honourable".
