Starmer's survival prospects uncertain, says union chief

The boss of the UK's largest trade union has said she cannot guarantee that Keir Starmer will remain the leader of the Labour Party after next May's elections, which are widely predicted to be disastrous for the prime minister.

- KATE DEVLIN

Christina McAnea, the general secretary of Unison, also hit out at what she said were a series of “own goals” by Labour since it came to power last July, as she called for a “reset”.

Asked if she thought Sir Keir would still be Labour leader after May, she replied: “Who knows?”

She added: “I don’t know, depending on what happens in May, what Keir will feel about it or indeed the Labour MPs will feel about it. I suspect he will be - but I could not honestly guarantee it.”

Her comments follow months of mounting tensions between Labour and the unions which erupted over the summer when another major union, Unite, accused the party of not being on the side of workers.