Pressure ramps up for Starmer as Labour prepares for Batley and Spen by-election

Could losing Batley and Spen really be “curtains” for Keir Starmer? Writing for The Guardian on Andy Burnham, his past leadership attempts and a potential future challenge, Diane Abbott issued a warning to the incumbent Labour leader. “Keir Starmer faces another by-election in the coming months in Batley and Spen,” she wrote. “If Labour loses again, it must surely be curtains for him. And then it may be that Andy Burnham’s time will have come.”

Shortly afterwards, left-wing MP Jon Trickett shared (before unsharing) a tweet that read “it’ll go nuclear after Batley”. And asked whether Starmer should resign if Labour loses the by-election, his former leadership rival Rebecca Long-Bailey told ITV’s Peston: “There are going to have to be serious discussions if there is a loss in Batley and Spen, but as I say I don’t want it to come to that.” Historian Anthony Seldon also pitched in this morning making a similar argument to Andrew Adonis. “Keir Starmer is a capable man. But he is no party leader,” Seldon wrote. “He should stand down now in the interests of Labour.”

A leadership challenge after a Batley and Spen loss is unlikely. It requires the support of 20% of Labour MPs to trigger a contest. But the interventions do underline the increasing pressure the leadership is facing to hold Batley and Spen, particularly after the historic Hartlepool defeat. Labour has a similar size majority to that in Hartlepool before May 6th but, unlike Hartlepool, Batley and Spen was held by the Tories until 1997. Labour could also be up against an even bigger ‘vaccine bounce’ as the vote could be held after all public health restrictions have lifted.

The party is yet to select its candidate, but members were emailed yesterday with a deadline of 5pm today for applications. Shortlisting is expected to take place on Saturday with local members voting on Sunday. Labour’s national executive committee is expected to waive the membership issue of clear frontrunner Kim Leadbeater, sister of murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, who only joined the party recently. The Tories have selected Leeds councillor Ryan Stephenson.

The government has announced its long-awaited overhaul of the rail industry. The proposal is for control of rail infrastructure and services to be placed under a new arm’s-length public body, ‘Great British Railways’, which will run and plan the network. This is not the end of a privatised system; franchises will be replaced with contracts incentivising private firms on punctuality and efficiency. TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortez criticised ministers for “papering over the cracks” of privatisation. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch described the plan as a “missed opportunity”, explaining: “The government talk about ending a generation of fragmentation but then leave the same private companies in place to extract fees that could be invested in building a truly integrated national rail network.”

Starmer and Boris Johnson met at PMQs yesterday amid the ongoing travel confusion. Unfortunately, anyone watching was less none the wiser as to why the government put countries on the ‘amber list’ if it does not want people to travel to said countries. A cynic might conclude that the uncertainty is intentional; if the UK sees another wave of cases that comes too early in the vaccine rollout, it can be put down to people not ‘doing the right thing’. Also on LabourList, shadow minister Alison McGovern has written on what Labour must do to get itself in a position to win and provided a four-step plan. “Nostalgia on the left is a political disease,” she warned. “It is a comforting warm bath in which to hide from the world rather than engage with the challenges that life presents us with. Forget the warm bath. Get on with the job. The only way to win is to focus on the future.”