The most powerful union leader in the UK has said he is angry at the unpopularity of Sir Keir Starmer’s government and warned it needs a radical change of course to prevent Reform UK taking power at the next general election.
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), said there is an “overwhelming sense of frustration” from trade unions, after Labour affiliated groups issued a statement calling for the prime minister to step down.
“They don’t think he could lead Labour into the next election,” Mr Nowak told The Guardian. “I’m not going to cut across where our Labour unions are at, but whoever is in No 10, they’ve got to show working-class people that they are on their side.”
Although Sir Keir promised “change” in his election campaign, Mr Nowak said that “for a lot of people there hasn’t been any real change”.
He added: “They certainly haven’t felt it in their pockets. I get that sense of frustration, 100%.”
TUC has been a supporter of Sir Keir’s government, and Mr Nowak feels it has failed to provide a positive case for its time in power.
The state of the polls, he said, made him “angry, to be honest with you – some of the good stuff the government has done, the government isn’t shouting louder about it, isn’t getting credit for it”.
He added: “It makes me angry when you have self-inflicted mistakes like the Mandelson scandal and winter fuel payments. And it makes me angry that we are having to have this debate at a time when people are crying out for politicians to actually pony up and deliver real change.”
While the local election results earlier this month were devastating for Labour – and showed Reform is on course for power – he said three years is plenty of time for the party to recover before the next election and warned it against being “fatalistic”.
He would be keen for a return of Andy Burnham, Labour’s candidate for Makerfield and the current mayor of Greater Manchester, to parliament – although warned he will face the same major challenges.
“Andy is clearly a talented politician and one that has managed in Manchester to prove that he can deliver but he can tap into issues that matter to working-class people,” Mr Nowak said “There’s no guarantee he’s going to win that by-election, but it would send a very clear message, I think.”
Sir Keir’s position is under increasing strain, and after the local elections several union leaders demanded that he step down.
Andrea Egan, the general secretary of Unison, Britain’s largest union, said: “Labour faces oblivion because it is not delivering for the vast majority of people. What must change is not just the leader but the entire approach: only a Labour government which always puts the interests of workers before the wealthy can succeed.”
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.”
FBU general secretary Steve Wright said Labour’s “devastating election results” were a “consequence of Keir Starmer’s government failing to deliver for working people”, while TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said Labour “urgently needs a leadership election” with a candidate who can “stop the very real danger of a far-right government coming to power in this country”.
