A Labour-affiliated union leader has urged a change at the top, calling for Angela Rayner to replace Keir Starmer. The intervention comes after a turbulent week for the Prime Minister and before a key by-election in Greater Manchester…reports Asian Lite News
The head of a Labour-affiliated trade union has called for Angela Rayner to replace Keir Starmer, warning that the Prime Minister risks leading the party into a heavy election defeat to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Maryam Eslamdoust, the general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association, said she wanted the former deputy prime minister to take charge after this month’s Gorton and Denton by-election. Her remarks make her the first union leader to call openly for Rayner to oust Starmer, adding to pressure on him at the end of what has been described by allies and critics alike as one of his most difficult weeks in office.
She said: “I think it’s time that the Labour party had a woman leader. The Tories have had three women prime ministers and four leaders and we’ve had none. I think Angela Rayner is a credible figure. I think some women MPs are making a lot of noise around there needs to be a woman deputy, but if they’re serious about that, they need to put their money where their mouth is and support Angela Rayner.”
Eslamdoust added that she believed Labour was likely to lose the by-election later this month and that Starmer should step down as a result.
“It’s not as simple as one dodgy appointment,” she said, referring to the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador last year. “It’s a series of poor political judgments. We’re in a period of economic and geopolitical instability with a prime minister that has exercised cumulative poor political judgment, so trust in him is completely gone.”
A spokesperson for Rayner rejected suggestions of a leadership bid, saying: “There is no contest and no vacancy. Angela has been clear Labour must come together, avoid distraction and work as a team to deliver for the public.”
Starmer has sought to restore unity after a week in which he lost his chief of staff and his communications director and faced criticism from the Labour leader in Scotland. He secured the backing of the cabinet on Monday afternoon after Anas Sarwar, who hopes to become Scottish first minister at May’s elections, said he had no confidence in the Prime Minister.
Downing Street figures had feared the comments might trigger a broader attempt to unseat Starmer but were reassured when senior Labour politicians at Westminster, including Rayner, expressed support for him.
Despite that show of unity, many in the party believe a leadership challenge could emerge, potentially after the by-election or the local elections in May. Allies of Wes Streeting have said they expect the Health Secretary to mount a bid in the aftermath of the local contests, though he has denied he is planning to do so.
Rayner has also applied pressure of her own in recent days, urging the government to cut taxes on the hospitality industry. “Customers just aren’t there in the way they used to be as business rates remain punishingly high, energy bills soar and costs in your supply chains and VAT bite,” she told an event in Liverpool. “We need to recognise that hospitality and nightlife require extended support – not handouts.”
Eslamdoust first called for Starmer to quit earlier this week, joining Steve Wright of the Fire Brigades Union in publicly advocating a change. Of the 11 unions affiliated to Labour, the TSSA is among the smallest. Eslamdoust, a former adviser to Jeremy Corbyn, said she wanted Rayner to move the party to the left, including through stronger protections for workers’ rights and nationalisation in rail, water and energy.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “Keir Starmer is one of only four Labour leaders ever to have won a general election. He has a clear five-year mandate from the British people to deliver change and that is what he will do.”
Her endorsement of Rayner is expected to intensify competition between her and Streeting for union backing. While Rayner has secured support from many leaders over her employment rights agenda, she has also drawn criticism from Unite, one of the largest unions, because of her opposition to the Birmingham bin strikes.
