LABOUR CHIEF SACKED FTER POLLING FIASCO

Party under threat of civil war as election fallout deepens

- David Williamson

SIR Keir Starmer is facing a civil war within Labour after sacking his party chairwoman.

In his first response after humiliation at the polls, he dismissed deputy leader Angela Rayner as chairwoman and campaign coordinator last night.

It was a move condemned by former shadow chancellor John McDonnell as a “cowardly avoidance of responsibility”.

He added: “Keir Starmer said yesterday that he took full responsibility for the election result in Hartlepool and other losses. Instead today he’s scapegoating everyone apart from himself.”

A Tory source last night claimed that Conservative co-chairwoman Amanda Milling had visited many more seats than Ms Rayner, saying: “If Angela Rayner had spent more time on the campaign trail maybe she’d still be in post.”

Ms Rayner’s sacking comes just 24 hours after Khalid Mahmood quit as a shadow defence minister. He said the party had been taken over by a “London-based bourgeoisie, with the support of brigades of woke social media warriors” and had “lost touch with ordinary British people”.

Labour’s in-fighting is in stark contrast to the celebrations of Tories when Conservative Andy Street won re-election as the West Midlands mayor. This victory comes on the heels of Ben Houchen being re-elected as the mayor of the Tees Valley with almost three-quarters of the vote.