Keir Starmer 'abandoned by working class' as Reform support as high as Labour among union workers
Keir Starmer has been "abandoned by the working class" after a new poll found union members are just as likely to show support for Reform UK as they are for Labour.
The polling by JL Partners found Reform and Labour tied at 28 per cent among union members, with Sir Keir Starmer's party suffering a 20-point drop since 2024.
According to the poll Reform beats Labour among Unite members by 36 per cent to 30 per cent, and by 31 per cent to 22 per cent among GMB members.
Reform leader Nigel Farage told The Times: "This polling tells me exactly what I have seen on the campaign trail. Labour is no longer the party of the patriotic working class.
"That mantle now belongs to Reform, which is now the party of those who work hard but for whom the system doesn’t work."
However, newly-appointed Health Secretary James Murray dismissed the poll, telling GB News: "We are two years into a five-year parliament and we always said things would take time.
"Don't forget, union members care about increases to minimum wage which Reform opposed. Union members care about workers' rights, which Reform also opposed."
Gary Smith, from the GMB, said: "Reform are no friends of workers. They want to cancel hugely important union rights and are targeting the pensions of the low paid. But Labour has to show working-class people it can be on their side, as it did with last week’s essential help for our ceramics industry."
However, Unite union chief Sharon Graham said: "Labour has abandoned the working class, and the working class have abandoned Labour."
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Wes Streeting set for showdown with Ed Miliband as he calls on Labour to drill in North Sea
Wes Streeting is set for a showdown with Ed Miliband as the former health secretary called for Labour to drill for oil and gas in the North Sea.
The Ilford North MP set out a series of policies ahead of a potential leadership contest expected by many in Westminster within the coming months.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, he also reiterated his support for the UK’s eventual return to the EU, while saying the party should stick to its manifesto commitments on Europe in the short term.
Mr Streeting argued Labour should issue more North Sea oil and gas licences, not because it would reduce bills but because it would provide additional tax revenue.
Second tranche of Mandelson papers expected to be published
Hundreds of documents relating to the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US are expected to be published this week.
The release, said to be the second largest publication to the House of Commons in history, is the second tranche of documents on the peer’s appointment.
MPs voted in February to demand ministers publish a wide range of documents relating to the appointment using an archaic parliamentary procedure known as a “humble address”.
The vote followed the launch of a police investigation into Lord Mandelson and concerns about the vetting process involved in his appointment.
A first tranche of documents, released in March, showed Sir Keir Starmer was warned of a “general reputational risk” because of Lord Mandelson’s connection to the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The second set of documents is expected to include messages between Lord Mandelson and ministers and Government advisers, including Sir Keir’s former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney.
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