In a letter leaked to the Guardian, the General Secretaries of 11 Labour-affiliated unions are putting their case to PM Keir Starmer today, saying:
It’s clear that the prime minister will not lead Labour into the next election, and at some stage a plan will have to be put in place for the election of a new Leader.
Adding that the Labour Party:
cannot continue on its current path.
Long-Labour allies GMB, Unite and Unison are among the rebelling unions. This damning letter follows resounding calls from over 80 Labour MPs, and the British public generally, for Starmer to step down
Increasing that pressure, union leaders and a number of socialist Labour MPs have also reportedly formed a new pressure group called Socialism26. As a result, despite the right-wing Wes Streeting eyeing up the leadership, it appears that Labour MPs and affiliates increasingly recognise that abandoning progressive, socialist policies has driven many of the Labour Party’s problems since the election of the UK prime minister.
Well, it took them long enough – but at least they’re standing up now.
EXCL: Keir Starmer will not lead his party into the next general election, Labour-supporting unions have predicted, in an intervention that threatens to further destabilise PM after damaging few days.
The 11 Labour-affiliated unions – including Unite, Unison and GMB – are…
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) May 13, 2026
Unions: “Govern in the interests of workers”
The statement penned by the unions is said to be announced later today, but the Guardian were able to obtain a leaked copy in advance.
In the letter, the general secretaries write:
Labour’s affiliated unions have been clear that Labour cannot continue on its current path.
Whilst we recognise progress has been made, such as aspects of the Employment Rights Act and the increase in the minimum wage, the results at the election last week were devastating.
Labour is not doing enough to deliver the change that working people voted for at the general election. Our focus is on the fundamental change of direction on economic policy and political strategy that unions have been clear is needed, and not on the personalities and unfolding political drama in Westminster.
It’s clear that the prime minister will not lead Labour into the next election, and at some stage a plan will have to be put in place for the election of a new Leader.
This is a point where the future of the party we founded will be debated and determined – and we are working closely as unions to shape a shared vision on policy, political strategy and economic policy that will reorient Labour back to working people, so Labour do what it was elected to do: govern in the interests of workers.
Keir Starmer is facing an increasingly destabilised leadership as a rebellion grows among long-quiet Labour MPs, many of whom now fear for their own positions after the abysmal – though hardly unexpected – performance at the recent local elections. In a desperate attempt to save face with the electorate, MPs are increasingly distancing themselves from Starmer, leaving the prime minister’s days in power looking clearly numbered.
Moreover, some specific demands are making their way through from the newly formed Socialism26 initiative group, making clear the areas in which they insist the Labour Party must do better:
NEW: A group of Labour MPs and general secretaries of Labour-affiliated trade unions are launching a new political initiative called Socialism26
They have the following immediate demands:
– New Deal for Working People in full
– Recognise the genocide in Gaza, support rebuilding…— Sienna Rodgers (@siennamarla) May 12, 2026
Socialism26: “Recognise the genocide in Gaza… Introduce sanctions”
The ‘immediate demands’ of this mix of socialists who still believe the Labour Party have a chance of regaining trust with the public are:
– New Deal for Working People in full
– Recognise the genocide in Gaza, support rebuilding efforts, introduce sanctions
– WASPI compensation
– Drop jury trials policy, lift restrictions on the right to protest, stop changes to indefinite leave to remain
– Measures to cut energy bills
It must be said – these demands do indeed expose exactly why Labour drove away its traditional voter base and destroyed the trust and respect the British public once had for the party. Nevertheless, it’s been decades since we’ve had a Labour administration that wasn’t moving towards the right, suggesting it will be a lot harder to get this (former) party of the working class to actually remember where its priorities, and loyalties, should actually lie.
The Guardian have reported that the group has been founded, and backed, by the following:
The founders are:
Unison’s Andrea Egan
FBU’s Steve Wright
CWU’s Dave Ward
TSSA’s Maryam Eslamdoust
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Neil Duncan-Jordan
Chris Hinchliff
Cat Eccles
Terry Jermy
Peter Lamb
Brian Leishman
Simon Opher
Richard Quigley
Lee Barron
Lorraine Beavers
Chris Bloore
Steve WitherdenAlso backed by lots of Socialist Campaign Group MPs
Will right-wing Labour listen?
The Labour right have their claws deep into the party infrastructure. Thanks to persistent purges of socialist anti-Zionists, the party is beholden to the Zionist state of Israel. Conducting a genocide hasn’t swayed their allegiances, so it is hard to see them suddenly take heed of the repeated demands from the left of Labour.
After all, they’ve taken a huge sum in donations from pro-Israel groups and, whilst forgetting it is the British public who pay their lofty and privileged salaries, they have chosen to guide their policies to suit right-wing, hostile interests.
Moreover, we have already written about the more than 100 MPs in the Tribune Group who are likewise pressuring Labour to shift leftward with their own set of demands. However, the emergence of two separate socialist groups issuing their own demands reinforces the perception that socialists remain disorganised, as they scramble to retain influence within a party machine that continues to favour right-wing politics.
Therefore, whilst this letter is a welcome sight and a refreshing reminder that socialism is not completely extinct in Labour, it is hard to imagine it would lead to any real, genuine socialist change.
When people widely accept and recognise that socialist policy offers the only real way to heal the harms of neo-liberal capitalism, we cannot afford to waste time on a hoodwinking political elite.
Featured image via the Canary
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