'Like a nineties tribute act!' Labour identity crisis as Starmer torn apart by union boss
Labour is facing an identity crisis, as Sir Keir Starmer was torn apart by union boss Sharon Graham
PA
Labour is facing an identity crisis, as Sir Keir Starmer was torn apart by union boss Sharon Graham.
In a scathing attack, she said the party is "unwilling to give Britain the reboot it needs", comparing the party to a "nineties tribute act".
Graham, the General Secretary of Unite union, said that Labour's current "light touch" approach will not work.
She warned that such an approach would leave working people "paying the price" as a result of the cost of living crisis.
Sharon Graham wrote a highly critical Opinion piece in the Sunday Times
PA
The union chief called for the party to make a "serious intervention underpinned by a strategic plan".
She said this needs to involve major policies such as energy nationalisation if the party is "serious about changing society".
Graham accused the Labour party of "rowing back on workers' rights", including the right to "bargain with your employer".
In a pointed dig at the party, she added: "Through its actions Labour is beginning to tell us whose side it is really on".
Her comments, penned in a lengthy Op-Ed for the Sunday Times, raise serious questions for the Labour leader, given the party is built on representing working people.
Defending the party in the wake of Graham's comments, Labour frontbencher Jonathan Reynolds said the party looks "to the future, not the past."
Asked if the criticism is fair, he told Sky News: "Unsurprisingly I reject that quite comprehensively."
He said: "I am very proud of the achievements of the last Labour government.
"I think if you compare that government to what we've had since 2010, that's a government of real achievements.
"But we look to the future not the past."
The Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade insisted the party's agenda is "offering people hope".
He continued: "But you don't do that unless you have sound foundations in place, like being trusted with the public finances, having a sustainable bond market so you can finance the very large, significant debt this country has.
In a scathing attack, Graham said the party is 'unwilling to give Britain the reboot it needs'
PA
"Liz Truss a year ago thought she was being radical.
"She may have been radical, but she was radically bad because she didn't understand those sound foundations have to be in place.
"So I just reject entirely the idea you choose between reassuring people and offering people hope."
You may like
