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 | ||||||||||||||
| Chair of the Commons Modernisation Committee | |||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 9 September 2024 |
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| Preceded by | Office established | ||||||||||||||
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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%) | ||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||
| 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 the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council since July 2024. She is a member of the Labour and Co-operative parties.
Lucy Powell has also been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Manchester Central since 2012. An MP is a person elected to represent a group of people in the House of Commons.
Before becoming an MP, she worked in public relations and campaigning. She also held several important roles in the Shadow Cabinet. This is a group of senior politicians from the main opposition party. They act as a "shadow" government, watching over the real government's departments.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Lucy Powell was born on 10 October 1974 in Moss Side, England. She went to Beaver Road Primary School and Parrs Wood High School in Didsbury. After that, she studied A-levels at Xaverian College.
She then went to university. She studied chemistry at the University of Oxford, attending Somerville College, Oxford. Later, she also studied at King's College London.
Career Before Parliament
Lucy Powell started her career working for a politician named Beverley Hughes. She had also worked at the Labour Party's main office during the 1997 general election campaign.
She then worked for a group called Britain in Europe (BiE). This group supported Britain being part of the Euro currency and the EU. She started in public relations and later became the campaign director. In this role, she worked with well-known politicians like Chris Patten and Nick Clegg.
After BiE closed in 2005, she worked for NESTA. This organization supports innovation in science, technology, and the arts. She helped set up and manage a project in Manchester.
From May to September 2010, Lucy Powell managed Ed Miliband's successful campaign to become the leader of the Labour Party. After he won, she worked as his deputy chief of staff until April 2012.
Parliamentary Career
Lucy Powell first tried to become an MP in 2007 for Manchester Withington. In the 2010 general election, she came second.
She was then elected as the MP for Manchester Central in a special election in 2012. She won with a large number of votes.
In October 2013, she joined the opposition's front-bench. This means she took on a more senior role for the Labour Party. In November 2014, she joined the Shadow Cabinet as the Shadow Cabinet Office Minister.
She was also a vice-chair for the 2015 general election campaign. After the election, she was re-elected as MP for Manchester Central.
Shadow Education Secretary
On 13 September 2015, Lucy Powell was appointed Shadow Education Secretary 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 the Shadow Cabinet on 26 June 2016. Many other shadow cabinet members also resigned at that time because they were unhappy with Jeremy Corbyn's leadership. She supported Owen Smith in the Labour leadership election that year.
Later Shadow Cabinet Roles
Lucy Powell was re-elected as MP for Manchester Central in the 2017 general election. She won with an even larger number of votes.
In September 2018, she suggested new laws in the House of Commons. These laws aimed to ban secret groups on social media platforms like Facebook. They also aimed to make moderators responsible for harmful content.
She was re-elected again in the 2019 general election.
On 9 April 2020, she rejoined the Labour front bench. She became the Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers. 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. While in this role, she said she was a "tech optimist," meaning she believes technology can bring good things.
She was re-elected for Manchester Central in the 2024 general election.
Leader of the House of Commons
After the Labour Party won the 2024 general election, Lucy Powell was given a very important job. On 5 July 2024, she was appointed the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council by the new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.
In September 2024, Lucy Powell discussed government spending cuts. She said these cuts were needed urgently.
Personal Life
Lucy Powell is married to James Williamson, who is an emergency medicine doctor. She has three children: a stepson, a daughter, and a son.
She is a fan of Manchester City F.C., a football team.
On 6 July 2024, Lucy Powell became a member of the Privy Council. This means she can be called "The Right Honourable".
