Keir Starmer has been accused of trying to bring Sadiq Khan “to heel” after pushing through a Labour rule change that Left-wing critics say will curtail the freedom of the party’s mayors.
Under plans approved by Labour’s ruling body at a meeting with the Prime Minister this week, figures such as Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham will have to seek sign-off from the party leadership to run again for election, submit report cards on their work and hand over a portion of their salary to party HQ or face “disciplinary action”.
In a sign of deepening splits in the governing party, Left-wingers claim the move is an attack on the freedom of the mayors, who have publicly disagreed with Mr Starmer over issues such as the Middle East war and the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) policy.
It comes after trade unions accused Sir Keir Starmer’s senior staff of ousting former transport secretary Louise Haigh.
A Left-wing member of the National Executive Committee (NEC), who was present at Tuesday’s meeting, said: “It’s a move to bring the mayors to heel. That’s concerning because they’re some of the most popular figures in the Labour party.
“Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham are threats to Keir Starmer, who doesn’t have a great approval rating. Ulez and Gaza were huge issues. Mayors were much more outspoken than the front bench would have liked them to be.”
In 2023, Mr Khan and Mr Starmer publicly disagreed about the expansion of the London Mayor’s Ulez policy after Labour lost a by-election over the issue. After the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, Mr Khan and Mr Burnham publicly broke with the party’s policy on the Gaza conflict by calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Mr Khan has also not relented on his criticisms of Donald Trump since he won the US election, while Cabinet ministers such as David Lammy have rowed back on previous negative comments.
An MP on the party’s Left also criticised the alleged power grab: “There is a code of conduct and we must all abide by that whether we are MPs or Mayors, but as long as you are within that code you should be free to disagree without being considered disloyal or dangerous by the leadership. London is different from Manchester which is different from Scotland etc. Mayors have to have a degree of freedom.
Another said: “The leadership are consistent in their top-down control freakery. The mayors are simply more popular than Keir Starmer. The leadership seems intent on taking away that popularity, increasing control and stifling any diversity of ideas.”
Moderates claim the move is simply a procedural step to impose the same expectations on mayors as there currently are on Labour MPs and councillors.
A moderate MP close to the leadership said: “This was just an anomaly. Mayors are gradually spreading across the country and every other level of office holder in the party has accountability. It’s striking hypocrisy from the Left. Their message was always that you can’t trust elected politicians and there needs to be accountability.”
However, it is likely to raise concerns of a push from Keir Starmer’s inner circle to prevent outspoken Left-wingers from obtaining prominent positions. The Prime Minister was accused of parachuting in loyalist “Starmtroopers” during the general election while deselecting Left-wing figures.
It comes after Louise Haigh, a tribune of the party’s Left, resigned from Cabinet this week after it emerged she had a spent conviction for fraud by misrepresentation relating to the theft of a mobile phone.
Ms Haigh was reportedly advised to go in a late-night phone call from Morgan McSweeney, the ruthless political fixer who was appointed as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff last month after the downfall of Sue Gray, who resigned after weeks of negative briefing and leaks about her in the press.
Trade unions have expressed their dismay at the circumstances of Ms Haigh’s departure, with one source telling The Telegraph: “You’re a target when you’re on the soft Left.”
Some on the Left have suggested Ms Haigh’s downfall was orchestrated by figures in Number 10 after her outspoken trade unionist views caused trouble for the Prime Minister.
In October, Ms Haigh described P&O Ferries as a “rogue operator” on the eve of a UK investment summit which DP World, the firm’s parent company, was due to attend. The Government disavowed Ms Haigh’s comments after DP World threatened to pull the plug on a UK investment project worth £1billion. Number 10 sources have described claims of a plot against Haigh as “rubbish”.
A source in Labour HQ said of the mayoral rule change: “It is an update of the rules to include mayors in party structure properly, especially since an expansion of the mayors is coming down the track.”
Angela Rayner’s department, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, is preparing to roll out a huge expansion of regional mayors in the coming years, with the plans to be fleshed out in a forthcoming White Paper on devolution.
The rule changes approved by Labour’s NEC this week will ensure the new batch of mayors are more pliable to the party leadership’s wishes, Left-wing opponents claim.
Earlier this year, Labour’s North East mayor Jamie Driscoll was deselected by the NEC shortly before the local elections on the pretext of appearing at a panel event with film director Ken Loach. Mr Driscoll was considered to be a hangover from the days of Jeremy Corbyn by some at the top of the party.
Bureaucratic tinkering by the NEC can have big political consequences. Rule changes in opposition gave the NEC greater central oversight of candidate selections before the general election, leading to the deselection of Left-winger Faiza Shaheen and a botched attempt to depose Mother of the House Diane Abbott in her Hackney seat.
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