Watson will be key figure in effort to build bridges between the new leader Jeremy Corbyn and the parliamentary party

Labour has picked Tom Watson as its deputy leader in a role that will involve helping to rebuild the party after its bruising election defeat and leadership contest.

The result was announced in front of an audience of party members at the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre, close to the houses of parliament in central London on Saturday.

Watson beat a slate of candidates that included Stella Creasy, the Walthamstow MP, and Angela Eagle, the MP for Wallasey.

He expressed his “gratitude, humility and determination to live up to the expectations” of party members, and hope that Eagle would play a big part in Labour’s next chapter.

“I promise to back our new leader 100%. I plan to do exactly that and ask you to do the same. Only through unity will come the strength we need to fight the Conservatives,” he said.

He said Labour was the last line of defence for the millions of people suffering under a Tory government.

He said: “For those who feel alarmed about the scale of differences between the old and new, there is only one Labour and it’s bigger than leaders and deputy leaders, bigger even than its members and supporters

“At our best, we articulate and embody the common sense and passion of the British people. If you put in when you can, you get out when you need.”

The contest had been a referendum on the culture of Labour politics as much as policies, because people were sick of the old way of doing things, he said.

His message to Tories sniggering about what they perceive as Labour weakness was to “watch this space and watch your backs”.

Watson, who was the frontrunner throughout, will now be a key figure in efforts to build bridges between the new leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and the parliamentary party, which overwhelmingly did not want the Islington North MP to win.



Watson has a reputation as a formidable organiser with deep links to local parties and the trade unions, including Unite, whose general secretary Len McCluskey was once his flatmate.

He was associated closely with Gordon Brown in the last Labour government and played a key role in trying to get rid of Tony Blair as prime minister. Under Ed Miliband, he was made election coordinator but resigned from his post during the Falkirk vote-rigging scandal, saying he wanted to preserve party unity and claiming he no longer wanted to be on the political merry-go-round.

Watson is perhaps best known as a dogged campaigner on issues related to civil liberties and privacy. He helped uncover the phone-hacking scandal and to expose child abuse in the establishment.

During the deputy leadership contest, he tried to take on the role of peacemaker and played down dire warnings from the Blairite wing of the party as overly alarmist.

In August, he told the Guardian that Labour members did not like being told who not to vote for and called on the parliamentary party to see the leadership contest as exciting, rather than being frightened of debate.

He acknowledges, however, that Labour could be at risk of splitting after the rancorous contest and says one of the jobs of a new deputy leader would be to help unite the shadow cabinet and backbenchers in an effort to stop this happening.

The role of Labour deputy is traditionally one that involves a lot of party management and organisation, but some have held cabinet portfolios as well.