Voting has finished in Labour’s deputy leadership election – with the winner expected to be announced in just a few hours’ time.

While the results have yet to be confirmed, it was looking like Lucy Powell is expected to secure a comfortable victory over Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.

A Survation poll published on Thursday showed that while Ms Phillipson had closed the gap on her opponent, the former Commons leader continued to enjoy a hefty lead in the contest to succeed Angela Rayner following her dramatic resignation from government and the major cabinet reshuffle that followed.

When Rayner stepped down as Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary last month, she also left her job as deputy leader of the Labour Party.

It’s easy to mix up that role with Deputy PM, the job t

See Full Page