Rayner warns Labour ‘running out of time’ and ‘survival of party at stake’

Angela Rayner has warned Labour is “running out of time” to deliver change and cannot “go through the motions in the face of decline” in an apparent challenge to Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership.

In a speech at an event by campaign group Mainstream, the former deputy prime minister said the party had come to be seen to represent “the Establishment, not working people” and called for a change of course.

Ms Rayner cited immigration reform as a key concern, suggesting that changes to indefinite leave to remain for people already living in Britain would be a “breach of trust”.

In an apparent attack on Shabana Mahmood’s plans to overhaul the system, she said: “Many people came here to Britain – on the understanding that if they worked in the sectors where we needed them, obeyed the law and paid their taxes, they could stay.

“If we suddenly change that, it pulls the rug from under those who have planned their lives and commitments and are contributing to our economy and to our society.

“That would be not just bad policy but a breach of trust. The people already in the system – who made a huge investment – now fear for their future, they do not have stability and do not know what will happen.

“We cannot talk about earning a settlement if we keep moving the goalposts, because moving the goalposts undermines our sense of fair play. It’s un-British.”

The Home Secretary has announced plans to double the time it takes for migrants to qualify for permanent residence from five to 10 years, arguing that long-term settlement is a “privilege” that must be earned.

Other requirements, such as speaking English to a higher standard, will also need to be met in order to stay in Britain, the Government has said.

Ms Rayner said: “As a party, and as a movement, we cannot hide, we cannot just go through the motions in the face of decline.

“There’s no safe ground and we’re running out of time.

“The change that people wanted so desperately needs to be seen, it needs to be felt, and we have to show that it is a Labour government that will deliver it.”

Ms Rayner resigned as housing secretary and deputy prime minister last year after a row over her underpayment of stamp duty on a new property.

She has since been widely seen as a potential successor to Sir Keir amid rumblings of a leadership challenge as both Labour’s poll ratings and the Prime Minister’s personal approval flounder.

Ms Rayner spoke at Mainstream after Tony Vaughan, who has co-ordinated a letter said to have been signed by more than 100 Labour parliamentarians urging the Government to rethink its immigration proposals.

The Home Secretary has argued that Labour values have guided the changes but that firm but fair action is needed.

In a speech earlier this month, she said: “Restoring order and control at our border is not a betrayal of Labour values, it is an embodiment of them, and it is the necessary condition for a Labour Government to achieve anything it hopes to.”