Union leaders have warned that Labour must do more to counter the threat of the populist right, as concerns grow that the party is losing support among working people to Nigel Farage's Reform UK. At the annual Trades Union Congress in Brighton, TUC general secretary Paul Nowak urged the government to show working people 'whose side you are on', saying too many felt Labour's promise of change was just a slogan.
One union chief told the Guardian that Keir Starmer had been 'too scared, too reticent' to take the fight to Farage, and was not doing enough to make a vocal case for Labour values on the economy and migration. Another said that with the departure of Angela Rayner from the top of government, Labour had lost one of its most effective 'attack dogs' against Reform, warning that unless the party 'upped its game', it would lose the next election.
There was also alarm among delegates that Rayner's exit could lead to a watering down of the employment rights bill, due back in the Commons next week. Downing Street insisted the reshuffle would have no effect, confirming plans to overturn amendments made in the Lords, including removing the right for workers to immediately launch unfair dismissal proceedings and changing the automatic right to guaranteed hours after three months.
Mike Clancy, leader of the Prospect union, said the government had created anxiety within the union movement but it would be 'politically untenable' to water down the bill. Steve Wright of the Fire Brigades Union warned that his union's response would be 'robust' and could lead to disaffiliation. He added: 'It does seem like they shot themselves in the foot a few times, and I think they're running out of legs to shoot.'
In his speech, Nowak appealed to the government to deliver the manifesto on which it won a huge majority, and directly challenged Farage: 'Nigel Farage, it's time to come clean about whose side you are really on. You're not representing working people. You are selling them out.'
