Skip to main contentSkip to navigation Close dialogue1/2 Next image Previous image Toggle captionSkip to navigation Angela Rayner has won the support of many union leaders with her employment rights agenda. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters View image in fullscreen Angela Rayner has won the support of many union leaders with her employment rights agenda. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters Union chief calls for Angela Rayner to replace Keir Starmer or risk Labour defeat to Reform UKExclusive: TSSA general secretary wants Rayner to take over after Gorton byelection which she expects party to lose The head of a Labour-affiliated union has called for Angela Rayner to replace Keir Starmer, warning that Starmer risks leading the party into a heavy election defeat to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.Maryam Eslamdoust, the general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), told the Guardian she wanted the former deputy prime minister to take charge after this month’s Gorton and Denton byelection.Eslamdoust is the first union leader to call openly for Rayner to oust Starmer, adding to pressure on the prime minister at the end of his most difficult week in office.She said: “I think it’s time that the Labour party had a woman leader. The Tories have had three women prime ministers and four leaders and we’ve had none. I think Angela Rayner is a credible figure. I…
Published: February 12, 2026 6:00 pm
Source: The Guardian — Read original