London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 05, 2025

Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner return questionnaires to Durham police

Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner return questionnaires to Durham police

Labour leader and deputy have promised to resign if found to have breached Covid rules by eating curry and drinking beer at event
Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner have returned questionnaires to Durham constabulary, giving their account of a gathering during last year’s local election campaign, the Labour party has confirmed.

The pair have both promised to resign if they are found to have breached Covid rules by eating a curry and drinking a beer at the event, which was caught on camera.

Starmer has repeatedly said he is convinced no rules were broken, but Durham constabulary announced last month they would investigate, after local MP Richard Holden pressed them to pursue the issue.

Senior party officials have begun tentative planning for a leadership contest should the pair have to step down, the Guardian understands. The party would then face having no clear interim leader, with its leader and deputy having been forced to resign.

John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, is the name most mentioned as potential interim leader, though some on the party’s national executive committee (NEC) favour it being offered to Harriet Harman, who performed the role during the 2015 leadership election. Harman has said she will stand down at the next election.

The NEC would select the caretaker leader while a contest took place, with Healey’s name in the frame because most of the senior members of the shadow cabinet are likely to be either candidates or closely associated with a candidate.

Other potential candidates include Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor; Lisa Nandy, the shadow levelling up secretary; the shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, and the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper.

The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, the favoured candidate of many MPs, would not be able to run in a snap leadership election except in the event of a rule change by the NEC to allow non-MPs to run. One source close to the committee said there was “absolutely no way” of that change happening.

Another said they did not think there would be any merit in changing the rules and forcing the party to then go through “three more months of hell” as it scrambled to find Burnham a seat and face a mayoralty byelection.

However, one senior party source suggested the upheaval that would be unleashed by the abrupt departure of Starmer and Rayner might persuade some NEC members to open the way for Burnham. “In an unstable situation, there could be all sorts of deals done.”

The former Unite union leader Len McCluskey lent his support earlier this week to a potential Burnham leadership candidacy.

Some in the party executive’s centrist bloc – which is now dominant under Starmer – have made tentative plans to attempt to persuade MPs they should rally behind just two candidates, which could then be put to a vote by members.

There is no guarantee that strategy would be successful. After rule changes last year, MPs would need to get at least 40 MPs to back them in order to reach the ballot paper.

There is no candidate from the party’s left likely to reach the required number, amid a split in the Socialist Campaign Group between veterans of the Jeremy Corbyn years such as John McDonnell and Jon Trickett and younger more ambitious left-wing MPs who formed the Love Socialism group, including Clive Lewis, Alex Sobel and Lloyd Russell-Moyle.

One outsider candidate who might win some support from the party’s left is the shadow mental health minster Rosena Allin-Khan, who ran for deputy leader in 2020. Allin-Khan was widely expected to be promoted in Starmer’s reshuffle but stayed in her role and attends the shadow cabinet in that capacity.

The only other plausible candidate is Dawn Butler, who was closer to Corbyn, Starmer’s predecessor as Labour leader, though she is less likely to win as many votes from the party’s soft left, which she would need to do in order to get on the ballot.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
×