Labour’s deputy leadership race could tear Starmer’s party apart

The rules have been fixed and the timetable agreed. So, who will be the key players in the race to be Labour’s next deputy leader? That is the question all Westminster is asking this lunchtime, following Angela Rayner’s resignation last Friday. The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) met this morning and confirmed that nominations will open this Saturday and close on 27 September. Candidates need to be nominated by at least 20 per cent of MPs (80) and either five per cent of local parties or three affiliates including two trade unions; they are then put to members in a preferential ballot. Voting will open on 8 October and run until 23 October, with the result announced two days later.

That tees up an intriguing Labour conference at the end of this month, when the contest will be in full swing. It means that the party’s splits could potentially be exposed in full public glare when members assemble in Liverpool. Those at the top of the party are all-too-aware of the potential for this race to disrupt the workings of government as Keir Starmer desperately tries to get his administration back on track. But given the legal constraints of the Labour rulebook and likely union opposition to any abolition of Rayner’s role, there is no other way but to proceed with a seven-week-long contest. The last time a deputy contest happened without a concurrent leadership race was 1981 – the year when Denis Healey, for the party right, narrowly saw off Tony Benn, the tribune of the Labour left.

This contest could be similarly divisive – although, personalities, not issues, in Benn’s famous phrase, are likely to form a major role. Loyalty to the current Labour leadership is likely to be a key dividing line. Shabana Mahmood, the new Home Secretary, has ruled herself out this morning. Other names being bandied about as helpful to Starmer include David Lammy and Alison McGovern. The list of less-helpful names is likely to be longer. As the lifetime of this government has progressed, the number of potential Starmer foes has only grown. Lucy Powell, unceremoniously dismissed last week is now viewed as a likely contender; Emily Thornberry, sacked last summer, is almost certain to stand. Louise Haigh, a third woman axed by Starmer, has used a piece in the New Statesman today to effectively call for Labour’s ‘fiscal straitjacket’ to be ‘broken.’

Rayner was a somewhat mercurial deputy, who often caused Starmer’s close aides no air of despair. But her worth was evident in the welfare rebellion when she sought to alleviate tensions between No. 10 and the Labour left. Her successor is likely to articulate, not alleviate, such grievances in the future, as the ructions from last week’s reshuffle continue to ripple through the party.