Union leaders and 25 Labor MPs have urged Keir Starmer to end a “narrow factional agenda” within the Labor Party.
A letter signed by MPs, the leaders of several Labor unions and campaign groups within the party claimed the summit’s approach was “increasingly unpopular with the public”.
The signatories include a number of Labor rebel MPs, including Clive Lewis and Brian Leishman, as well as senior figures such as John McDonnell.
They suggested that the party’s leadership’s approach could undermine its ability to win elections.
The letter comes after Starmer endured a turbulent few weeks in his premiership, with his judgment questioned over the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington DC despite his links to child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Prime Minister’s top adviser, Morgan McSweeney, resigned over his part in Lord Mandelson’s appointment, while Labour’s Scottish leader Anas Sarwar said Starmer should resign as a result of the scandal.
Further questions about the Prime Minister’s judgment were raised later this week over the appointment of his former spin doctor Matthew Doyle to the House of Lords after the aide campaigned for a sex offender.
The letter, also called the Restore Labor Democracy statement, took aim at the culture within Downing Street and Labour’s ruling team.
It said: “It is becoming increasingly clear that a narrow, factional agenda is being imposed on the party and that this is becoming increasingly unpopular with the public.
“This approach is wrong in principle and harmful in practice. When the Labor Party sidelines its members, it weakens Labour’s roots in our communities, alienates voters and undermines Labour’s ability to win the trust of both the people and the elections.”
The signatories pointed to the candidate selection for the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election, which saw Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham banned from appearing.
“Denying local members in Gorton and Denton the right to choose their candidate appears to be part of a pattern, alongside the widespread exclusion of hard-working councilors and the withdrawal of the whip for MPs who stand up for their constituents,” the letter said.
Labor MP for Leeds East Richard Burgon, who helped coordinate the statement, said: “Under Keir Starmer and Morgan McSweeney there has been a suppression of the democratic rights of Labor members.
“This has led to a small cabal making outrageous decisions that have made the Prime Minister and the government deeply unpopular – from the winter fuel payments mess to the appalling decision to make Peter Mandelson US ambassador.
“We urgently need an end to this nasty factionalism coming from the very top of the party, where the views of Labor members and trade unionists are treated with contempt.
“Restoring democracy within the Labor Party is essential if we are to reconnect with voters and avoid the election of a Trump-style reform government.”
The general secretaries of Unison, Unite, the CWU, the FBU and Aslef, all Labor affiliated unions, had signed the letter, as had the groups Campaign for Labor Party Democracy, Momentum, the Labor Muslim Network and Labor Assembly Against Sousterity.
Labor and union members can add their names to the letter from February 15.
The date was chosen because it is the 120th anniversary of the formal adoption of the name “The Labor Party” in 1906, the letter’s coordinators said.
A Labor Party spokesperson said: “The Labor Party is proud to be supported by our brilliant party members as we work to deliver the crucial change we were elected to deliver.
“Our Labor Government is doing its best for families across the country, including tackling the cost of living, reducing NHS waiting lists and restoring pride in local communities.”
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