STORY
Angela Rayner has said Sir Keir Starmer should reflect on whether he should stand aside, adding to the pressure on the Prime Minister as Labour continues to struggle with the fallout from poor local election results.
The former deputy prime minister stopped short of launching a leadership challenge herself, but said Starmer should “reflect” on his position and on whether he remained the right person to lead the party. Her intervention is significant because she remains one of Labour’s best-known figures and has strong support across parts of the party and trade union movement.
Rayner’s comments came after she was cleared by HMRC of deliberate wrongdoing or carelessness over her tax affairs. The investigation had followed questions about unpaid stamp duty, which she has since paid, and had been seen as a major obstacle to any return to frontline Labour politics.
She also ruled out doing a deal with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, saying she was “not doing deals or anything like that”. However, her remarks will intensify speculation about who could succeed Starmer if he is forced into a leadership contest, with Wes Streeting, Burnham, Ed Miliband and others all discussed as possible candidates.