A senior union chief has called for Angela Rayner to replace Sir Keir Starmer as she accused the Prime Minister of leading the party into a future heavy election defeat to Reform UK.General Secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) Maryam Eslamdoust has said it was “time Labour had a woman leader” as she took aim at the Prime Minister.While Ms Eslamdoust is not the first union leader to call for the Prime Minister to step down, she is the first to directly call for Ms Rayner to replace Sir Keir.She told The Guardian: “The Tories have had three women Prime Ministers and four leaders and we’ve had none. I think Angela Rayner is a credible figure.
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“I think some women MPs are making a lot of noise around there needs to be a woman deputy, but if they’re serious about that, they need to put their money where their mouth is and support Angela Rayner.”Ms Eslamdoust, a former advisor to Jeremy Corbyn, urged the party to move to the left, calling for stronger protections for workers rights and nationalisations in the rail, water and energy industries.Sources close to Ms Rayner were quick to downplay rumours of any potential contest between the former Deputy Prime Minister and Sir Keir.A spokesman for Ms Rayner said: “There is no contest and no vacancy. Angela has been clear Labour must come together, avoid distraction and work as a team to deliver for the public.”A Downing Street spokesman said: “Keir Starmer is one of only four Labour leaders ever to have won a general election. “He has a clear five-year mandate from the British people to deliver change and that is what he will do.”This knock to the Prime Minister comes after a previous trade union blow as Steve Wright, the General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, called for him to stand down last week over the Lord Mandelson scandal. Mr Wright previously warned Sir Keir was on his “last chance” last month, threatening all 11 affiliated unions could assemble against the Prime Minister following poor local election results.LATEST DEVELOPMENTSLabour launches fresh crackdown on drivers with plans to ban vaping in cars with childrenMark White warns Labour facing ‘slow, lingering death’ after being engulfed in crisisClaire Coutinho warns of ‘chaos’ in Labour as PM ‘has no team left’Despite being asked to step down from Deputy Prime Minister after becoming embroiled in a stamp duty tax scandal, Angela Rayner has been busy behind the scenes, with rumours she has her sights set on Number 10.The former Deputy Prime Minister joined Andy Burnham yesterday urging the Government to deliver greater tax relief to Britain’s struggling hospitality sector in a fresh challenge to Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership.She spoke with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar just hours before he called on the Prime Minister to resign last week.A source close to Ms Rayner confirmed a conversation between the two had taken place, insisting it was a “courtesy” call, adding Sir Keir still had her full support, the Telegraph reported at the time.
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