Ms Powell replaces Sharon Hodgson, MP for Washington and Sunderland West, who had been in the role since 2010. Ms Hodgson will now work as shadow minister for women and equalities.
Lucy Powell, who was elected in last year's byelection, is the first woman in Labour to serve as an MP for any of the Manchester constituencies.
In the last six months she has stood up for working families, tabling an Early Day Motion in June in support of the House of Commons Nursery, and calling for more ‘joined-up thinking’ to confront the ‘childcare triple whammy’ facing parents.
Ms Powell's appointment follows that of Tristram Hunt, who has replaced Stephen Twigg as the new shadow secretary of state for education.
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