Angela Rayner has dealt a devastating blow to Keir Starmer in the Labour civil war, hinting that the Prime Minister should be replaced as party leader due to his unpopularity. The former Deputy Prime Minister said it is "hard to escape the feeling the public have" towards Sir Keir.
Ms Rayner was answering a question about whether it is too late for Labour to regain voters' trust under Sir Keir. She said: "I don't think it's too late for the Labour Party to deliver that, and that's a different question. I know I'm not answering your question direct. I think that it's hard to escape the feeling that the public have had towards Keir."
Rayner's comments on Labour's future
She continued: "But I do think that there is an opportunity for us to say we're listening, and this is crucial. People need to see that the Labour Party are listening and that they're on their side. I think that's the challenge for us, because they've been very loud and clear in what they've said to us on the doorstep, and it's now our opportunity to listen to that."
Ms Rayner appeared to offer support for Sir Keir's leadership rival Andy Burnham's campaign. She told the Mirror: "What's going on in Ashton-in-Makerfield is going on in Ashton-under-Lyne [her constituency], it's going on in the Midlands, it's going on across the country. The challenges are the same, so of course he's having that wider conversation."
Support for Burnham and criticism of Starmer
"But this is about making sure that the Labour Party are able to work together, so that we can deliver the change that people want, and I'm up for that. I'm up for playing my role in that." She said the Mayor of Greater Manchester was winning over voters in Makerfield with a "new type of politics", talking about hope and a path to change Britain.
The former Deputy Prime Minister added: "The Government has made some mistakes and are deeply unpopular. I think we have to acknowledge that. You saw that come through in the local elections. People didn't feel like we were delivering the change quickly enough. Some of the mistakes we made - whether it was on winter fuel, whether it was on being able to stand up for the rights of the people of Palestine - these things were value based."
Values and the by-election
"They were not necessarily a policy issue, it was a values issue that meant people felt, 'well you're not standing up for your values'. I think that was more crushing than anything else." And the Makerfield by-election is a "line in the sand moment", she said. Ms Rayner added: "I think everybody in the Labour Party understands the challenge that we face. I think there's conversations that have been had and I welcome them about how we deliver for people and deliver the change and what that means, and I think that's an important part of this process."
"But we have a limited time to do it, and people are impatient for change because they're struggling. It's not unreasonable of the voters to say, 'You said change, you said you were going to improve my life. My life's getting harder, it's not getting easier'. They want to see that we stick to our values and we make decisions based upon what we promised."
Starmer fights back
Prime Minister Sir Keir has vowed to fight any leadership contest. He said: "They said it's not possible to turn the Labour Party around. It's not possible to win an election. It's not possible if you do win an election to invest in your public services and stabilise the economy – wrong every time, and that's why I intend not to walk away from this, but to carry on with what I was elected to do."
