KEIR Starmer has been told to stop making mistakes by senior Labour figures as the party’s approval ratings continue to free-fall, according to reports.
The Prime Minister has faced public criticism from Emily Thornberry, who is one of several Labour figures looking to replace Angela Rayner, as she said further mistakes from Starmer could lead to having to “hand our country to [Nigel] Farage”.
Meanwhile, veteran MP Diane Abbott has called for a “dramatic” change of course from Starmer over his leadership of the Labour Party as she warned he is leading them into “the abyss”.
She said: “Labour is at 20 points in the polls on current policies. The reshuffle is doubling down on failure.
“Unless there is a dramatic change of course, Starmer is leading Labour to the abyss.”
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, has also called for a “reset” as he told the Guardian that Starmer’s government needs to be “listening to the heartbeat of the party”.
Burnham, who is considered one of the front-runners to succeed Starmer, endorsed either Louise Haigh or Lucy Powell, two former cabinet ministers sacked by the prime minister, for the deputy leadership race.
Justin Madders, Rayner’s employment minister, was also removed in the reshuffle and said on Sunday it “would be really, really foolish for the Government to row back on key manifesto commitments that are popular with the public and will show what a positive difference a Labour government can make”.
Madders’ comments come after union leaders advised Starmer on Sunday against attempting to water down Rayner’s employment rights bill, which has yet to pass through parliament.
Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, has urged Starmer to commit to implementing the legislation “in full”, following growing pressure from businesses for Labour to water down some of the protections against unfair dismissal.
Meanwhile, Unite the Union’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “If they don’t become a workers’ government, the workers will seek other answers. The stark warnings are already there.”
One senior Labour source told The Guardian the reshuffle was an example of “groupthink”. They added that whether “they win or lose in May, it’s all on them as there’s no one now who isn’t signed up to this way of working. It’s clear from this reshuffle that they aren’t interested in listening.
“This is going to reinforce rather than solve their problems – the deputy contest then takes on the form of an intervention and not just filling a vacancy.”
Starmer’s reshuffle, which saw Ian Murray demoted from Scottish secretary to a minister jointly in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, after Labour’s approval rating fell to its lowest since the party came into power.
The latest figures, published by YouGov on Tuesday, found 70% of people disapproved of Keir Starmer's Government.
A total of 11% of people across the UK said they approved of the Labour Government, while 19% said they didn't know.
It means Labour's net approval rating has fallen by five points to -59% since the last YouGov poll was conducted on August 24.
