Angela Rayner has issued a dramatic ultimatum to Sir Keir Starmer, demanding that his government take a hard turn to the left as the embattled prime minister prepares to deliver a speech that could determine his political future. The former deputy prime minister, who still faces unresolved issues over unpaid tax, warned: "What we are doing isn't working, and it needs to change. This may be our last chance."
Leadership challenge looms
Labour MPs believe former minister Catherine West is nearing the number of parliamentarians needed to launch a stalking horse leadership challenge. While Ms West has not formally requested nominations and has indicated she will wait for the prime minister's speech, it is understood that around 70 colleagues are willing to back her to ensure a contest. She would need the support of 80 MPs to formally launch a bid but could trigger the process by contacting the party's National Executive Committee.
The prime minister has been warned he must deliver "the speech of his life" to remain in office, as the number of Labour MPs publicly calling for his resignation grows by the hour. Former home secretary Lord David Blunkett told Times Radio: "I think either Keir pulls out the stops and there's a massive transformation in how we relate to the public. Or he and [his wife] Victoria will have to talk about the best way of doing it in a seemly fashion and someone else will take over. The jury's well and truly out."
MPs have reacted with outrage to Sir Keir's weekend interview in which he suggested he wants to be prime minister for a decade. Meanwhile, Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite the union, warned: "The Labour Party is in danger of going extinct."
Rayner's left-wing agenda
Reflecting on last week's local election results, Ms Rayner noted: "We are in danger of becoming a party of the well-off, not working people." She criticised Sir Keir's tenure, saying: "The Peter Mandelson scandal showed a toxic culture of cronyism. Decisions like cutting winter fuel allowance just weren't what people expected from a Labour government."
Laying out a left-wing agenda, she insisted: "We have the chance to fix this." She called for interventions to cut household bills, increased planning reforms, more community ownership, and taking private companies into public ownership. She also criticised Sir Keir for blocking Andy Burnham from returning to parliament, claiming: "We can only prove we mean it by putting the common interest ahead of factionalism."
With an implied threat to the leadership, she added: "The prime minister must now meet the moment and set out the change our country needs. Change our economic agenda to prioritise making people better off, change how we run our party so that all voices are listened to, and change how we do politics. Labour exists to make working people better off. That is not happening fast enough, and it needs to change — now."
Streeting's position
The fallout from Labour's catastrophic local election results has fuelled fears on the left that health secretary Wes Streeting is planning a coronation to replace Sir Keir. A source close to Mr Streeting denied he had told Sir Keir he is ready to be prime minister but confirmed that, having failed to endorse the prime minister on Friday, he is not planning further interventions until Thursday when new NHS data is set to be published.
Ms West's move over the weekend has forced rivals to reset their plans. Supporters of Ms Rayner have privately claimed that Mr Streeting will get some of his backers to nominate her to launch a contest, which he could then enter without taking the blame for starting it.
Downing Street nervousness
Nervousness in Downing Street over another crisis week ahead of the King's speech on Wednesday was underlined by a delay in a trail for the keynote speech aimed at resetting the government. It is understood that Sir Keir wants to discuss reversing key parts of Brexit as he tries to regain the initiative after his party was almost wiped out in Wales, suffered its worst ever result in Scotland, and lost around 1,500 council seats in England.
Almost 40 Labour MPs have publicly called for him to go or set a timetable for his departure, with many more agreeing privately. Earlier, education secretary Bridget Phillipson defended Sir Keir, telling Sky News: "I've knocked on doors right across the country and in my own community... What I heard was not a desire for a leadership contest... What I heard loud and clear from voters was their deep sense of frustration that they'd voted for change in 2024, they were hopeful that change would be delivered and they don't feel that we as a party or as a Labour government have delivered what they wanted."
However, among MPs demanding Sir Keir's departure, Jarrow and Gateshead East MP Kate Osborne wrote for The Independent: "The direction Keir has taken the Labour Party has not only seen us lose councils and councillors who are delivering for the local people but it is also destroying the Labour party." Others urged the party to resist a coup and take time to choose a new leader. Leeds East MP Richard Burgon, who chairs the Socialist Campaign Group and wants Mr Burnham to return, said: "What we need instead is for Keir to set a date for his departure, followed by a full and proper democratic contest that can look at what went wrong and how we change course to win back trust and support, with a broad range of candidates and viewpoints represented. And that process has to involve all MPs, not just the Cabinet, as well as trade unions and party members, all of whom must have a democratic voice in choosing Labour's future direction."
