Politics LIVE: Union chief calls for Angela Rayner to replace Keir Starmer amid Reform landslide fears

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 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.

"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 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."

FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY…

Keir Starmer seeks new top mandarin in Downing Street shake-up

Sir Keir Starmer will begin the process of appointing a new Cabinet Secretary after Britain’s top civil servant stepped down "by mutual agreement."

Sir Chris Wormald left the role on Thursday after just 14 months as Sir Keir sought to shake up his Downing Street operation in the wake of the Peter Mandelson scandal.

He is the third senior figure to quit the Government in the past week following Sir Keir’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and communications director, Tim Allan.

With three senior civil servants now jointly doing the cabinet secretary job, two interim chiefs of staff and no communications chief, Conservative shadow minister Alex Burghart said: "Britain isn’t being governed."

Sir Chris is widely expected to be replaced by Home Office permanent secretary Dame Antonia Romeo, viewed by Downing Street as a "disrupter", despite warnings from her former boss at the Foreign Office.

MPs to debate holding 'defection by-elections' after top Tories switch to Reform UK

MPs will debate changing the law on holding by-elections if an MP switches allegiance following a series of defections from the Tories to Reform UK.

The petition, which surpassed 128,000 signatures, surged after Newark MP Robert Jenrick and Romford MP Andrew Rosindell crossed the floor to Nigel Farage's party.

Almost 1,000 people signed the petition in Suella Braverman's constituency of Fareham & Waterlooville, with just over 500 backing automatic by-elections in Danny Kruger's seat of East Wiltshire.

Our Assistant News Editor Jack Walters has the exclusive story here.

Here's what's happening today in Westminster

Good Morning and Happy Friday from all of us on the GB News Politics team, here's what's driving the agenda today.

Sir Keir Starmer is off to Germany today to meet European allies gathering in Munich as the continent faces antagonism from Donald Trump and growing threats from China and Russia.

He is expected to hold meetings with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron in the afternoon, and then address the summit on Saturday morning.

After a torrid few weeks domestically, the Prime Minister will travel to the Munich Security Conference on Friday.The Liberal Democrats have laid down the gauntlet to Sir Keir Starmer as they urged the Conservatives to join them and kill off Labour's bid to postpone elections this May. Our Chief Political Correspondent Katherine Forster has the exclusive story here.

Suella Braverman is the guest on this week's Chopper's Politics Podcast, where the former Home Secretary told our Political Editor she would be happy if Nigel Farage pursued socialist policies if he became Prime Minister. You can listen to the full interview with Reform's newest MP here.

Zack Polanski's Green Party is set to hold a vote on legalising heroin in a bid to make a more "inclusive" society, with party members having their say on the matter at the Green's Spring Conference. Our reporter Peter Stevens has the story here.

While Parliament is in recess, the High Court is set to rule at 10 am on whether the Home Office’s decision to ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation was lawful.

Here on GB News, we'll be joined by Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho and Water and Flooding Minister Emma Hardy.

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