Union head calls for Labour leadership election in wake of council results

The head of a union affiliated to Labour has called for a leadership election in the wake of the council election results already announced.

Transport Salaried Staffs Association general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said: “Unions like the TSSA will not stand by in the wake of this electoral disaster and let Keir Starmer pave the way for a hard right government led by Nigel Farage.

“Joe Biden did exactly that in the US, and it’s clear from these results that we’re facing a similar catastrophe unless Labour changes leadership and direction.

“The TSSA will now seek to work with other unions to assert our political influence at all levels of the Labour Party to try to deliver that.

“At the last general election, the country didn’t vote simply to repaint the front bench red.

“People voted for meaningful change they could actually feel in their lives.

“That’s why Labour urgently needs a leadership election to allow members to pick a candidate who is much more responsive to the needs of working people and who can stop the very real danger of a far-right government coming to power in this country.”

Fire Brigades Union (FBU) general secretary Steve Wright said: “It’s already clear that Labour is facing devastating election results as a consequence of Keir Starmer’s Government failing to deliver for working people.

“Unions like the FBU and others that are affiliated to Labour have not been listened to about the urgent need to permanently break with austerity by properly funding public services and pay workers.

“The leadership’s response to this electoral meltdown so far has simply not been good enough.

“Making vague promises about hope while failing to deliver for ordinary people on a day-to-day basis, when Nigel Farage’s hard-right party is poised to take power in many parts of the country, is a dereliction of duty.

“It’s patronising to working people who will now suffer under Reform’s rule.

“As a Labour affiliate, under my leadership, the FBU will demand that the Government listens to working people and starts to deliver for FBU members on pay, jobs, wages and workers’ rights.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The writing is on the wall for this Labour government and it could be the beginning of the end for the party itself.

“The working class have been abandoned and have delivered their verdict.

“They have painted the ballot boxes of our towns and swathes of the Midlands and the north turquoise and even green. They have done so using the brush of decades of Labour failure.

“Labour ministers can loyally read out lists of their achievements, but no one is listening. If every one of those achievements were in stereo, they wouldn’t even touch the sides of the vision that is needed now.

“We are stuck in a rigged system where everyday people always, always pay.

“Only fundamental, irreversible change will stem the tide. If the party does not shift decisively towards the working class it is finished.

“It is change or die. Now or never.”

Unison general secretary Andrea Egan said Labour faced “political oblivion” because it was not delivering for the majority of people.

“There’ll clearly be a change of Labour leader sooner or later, but what really needs to change is the fundamental approach.

“Only a Labour government which unashamedly puts the interests of workers before the wealthy can succeed.

“That means taxing the super-rich to repair public services, guaranteeing workers are paid their fair share, and ending the outsourcing racket by bringing public services back under public ownership.

“Reform claims to oppose the elite but all that’s offered is more of the same – attacks on workers and migrants, backed by billionaire funders.

“So whenever and wherever the party gains power, life will become more difficult for public sector workers and all ordinary folk.

“Unison will not tolerate political attacks on members from Reform-run local councils. If Reform comes for our jobs, pensions, pay or conditions, it’ll face the full force of the union.

“We will also continue to stand with our migrant members, facing a crackdown on their rights and bearing the brunt of rising intolerance.

“Reform poses an unprecedented threat to the union movement. It couldn’t be more urgent for Labour to stop playing on Farage’s pitch and start rebuilding a progressive majority based on real labour values.”