Starmer stance on rail strikes ‘may end’ Labour party, union chief warns

Labour leader’s order to stay away from picket lines has angered left of party

(Kate Osborne/Twitter)

A senior union leader has warned that Sir Keir Starmer’s handling of the railway strikes “may end” the Labour party.

Starmer has infuriated many on the left of the party by ordering Labour frontbenchers to stay away from picket lines during the RMT dispute which brought much of the UK’s rail network to a halt for a second day today.

The comment by Mick Whelan, general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef and co-chair with Starmer of the Tulo organisation which co-ordinates union support for Labour, reflects the depth of the rift within the movement over the leader’s stance.