Angela Rayner has been backed by a union to take over from Sir Keir Starmer if Labour lose the by-election in Gorton and Denton.
Maryam Eslamdoust, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), has publicly backed Angela Rayner to replace him, marking the first time a leader of one of Labour’s affiliated unions has openly supported an alternative to Sir Keir.
But a spokesman for Ms Rayner said there was “no contest and no vacancy”.
On Thursday, Ms Rayner and Andy Burnham joined forces to criticise Sir Keir’s pub tax grab. It comes after controversies surrounding the appointments of Lord Peter Mandelson and Lord Matthew Doyle despite their association with sex offenders.
Both suggested Sir Keir should cut VAT to ease pressure on struggling businesses, with Ms Rayner saying at a nighttime economy summit in Liverpool: “I mean, I talked about the challenges on business rates, the challenges on VAT. The challenges, yes, the minimum wage going up and the living wage and the costs of energy.”
Mr Burnham, later on, said: “I personally would support permanently a lower business rates regime for hospitality businesses for exactly the same reason,” according to The Telegraph.
