Unionists and grass roots look to regain power after years of playing second fiddle to Blairites
Angela Rayner is the most obvious candidate when the Labour leadership is next up for grabs
22 May 2025
Daily Telegraph
Two hours after The Telegraph broke the story of the Angela Rayner memo on Tuesday night, the following WhatsApp message arrived from a Left-wing Labour MP: “Is this leak a sign that the battle for the succession is starting to break out?”
It provides a neat insight into what that tribe is thinking now.
Talk of a leadership coup is, to be clear, premature. There is no credible threat to Sir Keir Starmer’s supremacy as top dog in the Labour Party and the Government.
He is less than a year into his premiership, still able to point back to the biggest Labour majority since Sir Tony Blair. Plus, even if there was a sufficient degree of discord to act, the Labour rulebook lacks the “no confidence” mechanism that was so ruthlessly used by the Tories to force a vote.
But something subtler is happening. The Left of the party, forced onto the back foot by the brutally effective group of moderates around Sir Keir, is starting to tool up.
There is talk of raising funds. There is a desire to organise better. And, yes, there are whispers about who will be the flag-carrier when the leadership is next up for grabs.
Ms Rayner is the most obvious candidate. As Deputy Prime Minister, she is number two in the government hierarchy. As deputy Labour leader, she has proven electoral appeal with party members, who ultimately decide these contests.
She is building up a list of policy achievements to get the Left clapping, including driving through a package of workers’ rights and prioritising social housing in her push to build 1.5 million new homes.
A leaked memo from the Deputy PM to Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, has been revealed by The Telegraph
For months, figures around Ms Rayner have waved away any idea that she is angling for the top job. The leaked memo, it should be noted, appears to be a straight attempt to shift government policy rather than a leadership pitch.
Those who know her well also acknowledged that the spotlight on her personal life – Ms Rayner had her living arrangements scrutinised by the press for weeks – had taken a toll.
Some, though, think she would stand just to stop Wes Streeting, the media-savvy Health Secretary seen by some centrists as the natural successor to Sir Keir, from being elected.
“I don’t think she wants it. The invasion of her private life was uncomfortable,” one ally told The Telegraph earlier this year. “But if no one else emerges to take on Wes, then she would do it.”
So who else could emerge? Louise Haigh, the red-haired former minister, has been hitting TV studios calling for a reversal of spending cuts since the local elections. The rapidity with which she was dropped by No10 in November when it emerged that she pleaded guilty to a fraud offence a decade ago angered Left-wingers, who saw in her an ally.
While pinning Labour figures on the party’s internal political spectrum can prove tricky, Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, is often labelled “soft Left” and has a major Cabinet brief.
Others much newer to the Commons – such as Sarah Owen, part of the 2019 intake, and Miatta Fahnbulleh, who is already a minister despite only arriving last year – are seen as rising stars among the grassroots.
The Left is also making efforts to strengthen its immediate sources of power. Unite, until recent years the trade union with the biggest membership, has traditionally been a stalwart of the Left and a counter-weight of sorts to the Labour moderates.
When Jeremy Corbyn was wobbling under intense pressure to quit as leader after the 2016 Brexit referendum, it was Len McCluskey, then the Unite general secretary, who propped him up.
But Sharon Graham, Mr McCluskey’s successor, has made a merit of largely staying out of Westminster, focusing on delivering for members rather than political meddling.
That approach is now being challenged by Labour MPs, who want her to play a more active role in the political sphere – one, some hope, that will change government policy.
A letter is being circulated among 88 Labour MPs backed by the union at the last general election, calling for a Unite parliamentary group to be set up.
The Telegraph has seen a copy of the letter, one part of which reads: “We believe that the Unite Parliamentary Group must be reconstituted as soon as possible and representatives must be nominated to the Trade Union Group of Labour MPs.
“Doing so will help keep Unite at the forefront of political campaigning within the trade union movement and ensure Unite MPs are informed of key campaigns to hold the Government to account on its pledges around industry and workers’ rights.”
The letter is designed to attract the attention of Ms Graham. The language is formal, but the message is clear – it is time for Unite to play a much more active role in Westminster.
Moderates rule with iron fist
Will these efforts come to much? It remains to be seen. The story of the past half decade within Labour is one of a ruthlessly efficient set of moderates taking control of the party.
Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir’s influential chief of staff, holds Corbynites in contempt. Many socialists hoping to be parliamentary candidates at the last election found their paths blocked.
Those who were already MPs and were willing to kick up a fuss about the two-child benefit cap have been stripped of the whip. John McDonnell, who was Mr Corbyn’s shadow chancellor, was among them.
On people, on policy, on power, the centrists are still winning. They are calling the shots in No 10. The Left, marginalised after years of internal warfare, remains a weakened force.
But, as the popularity of this young Labour Government continues to sink and Labour MPs feel emboldened to voice their concerns – something that will only be strengthened by Sir Keir’s about-turn on winter fuel payments – a door is opening for a Left-wing comeback.
Make no mistake – plots are being hatched to make sure the opportunity is taken.
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