London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

McDonald’s abrupt resignation shatters Labour show of unity

McDonald’s abrupt resignation shatters Labour show of unity

Analysis: Keir Starmer’s team regard departure as deliberate attempt to destabilise party leadership
After a rocky run-in to Labour’s conference in Brighton, Keir Starmer was hoping Monday would be the moment his party set internal divisions aside and turned to face the voters.

Chatting to journalists in the press room, he said his package of rule changes passed by delegates on Sunday would allow Labour MPs to focus on the public instead of looking over their shoulders at angry grassroots members.

He praised Rachel Reeves for her speech setting out her stall as Labour’s next chancellor: radical but responsible. Little more than an hour later, however, the show of unity was shattered when Andy McDonald, the last remaining Corbynite on Labour’s frontbench, abruptly resigned.

McDonald, who had been shadow secretary of state for workers’ rights, objected to being ordered by the leader’s office to oppose a union demand for Labour to back a £15-an-hour minimum wage.

In his resignation letter – distributed to journalists without warning and before he had spoken to Starmer – McDonald claimed the labour movement was “more divided than ever”.

Starmer’s team regarded his departure as a deliberate attempt to detract from Reeves’ speech and destabilise the leadership.

It is understood that Angela Rayner, who has worked closely with McDonald on workers’ rights, was not forewarned.

Rayner’s relationship with Starmer has come under close scrutiny after he distanced himself from her strongly worded remarks about Tory “scum” at the weekend, saying he would talk to her about them.

The pair have broadly patched up their differences since Starmer stripped Rayner of the jobs of party chair and elections coordinator in May’s reshuffle, but they have very different political and personal styles.

Starmer’s robust leadership style and tendency to take decisions with the advice of a tight inner circle can irk even close colleagues, some of whom were taken aback by his rule-change plan.

Ed Miliband found his approach to energy nationalisation undercut on Sunday when Starmer said Labour would not take the big six energy companies into public ownership.

That appeared to contradict recent remarks in which Miliband, the shadow energy secretary, had suggested public ownership was part of the solution to shifting the economy to green energy. Labour insiders said Miliband was frustrated by Starmer’s flat “no” when asked about nationalisation, with one party source suggesting the two men were barely speaking – though Miliband denies this.

While Starmer’s team were clearly shocked by McDonald’s resignation on Monday, they believe another row with the party’s left – over rejecting radical demands from trade unions – will not do his public reputation any harm.

However, there is also a fear that McDonald’s determination to air his concerns in public marks a new, more militant phase for the party’s left wing.

The Corbynite campaign group Momentum responded to Starmer’s rule change package last week by warning it would spark a “civil war”, claiming “conference will get very messy, very fast – and there is no saying who will come out on top”.

The former shadow chancellor John McDonnell wrote on Sunday that he could no longer behave as an “elder statesman”, and he has since begun criticising Starmer more directly, even suggesting that the Labour leader should consider his position if he has not improved the party’s poll ratings by January.

Jeremy Corbyn’s outriders believe they faced a deliberate programme of sabotage from centrist MPs in the parliamentary Labour party, and after Starmer took them on so publicly over leadership rules they now feel the gloves are off.

They may not have the 40 MPs necessary to muster a leadership challenge, but they may become increasingly noisy in the coming months just as Starmer hopes to show the public the Labour party is a government in waiting.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
×