Unite boss accuses Angela Rayner of 'gameplaying' over membership row as she says workers are 'abandoning Labour'
The General Secretary of the Unite Union has accused Angela Rayner of “gameplaying” as she said workers are “abandoning Labour in droves.”
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It comes after the Union announced it had suspended Ms Rayner following a row over the handling of the bin strikes in Birmingham, as it hinted at a possible split from Labour.
On Friday, the organisation announced it would 're-examine' its relationship with the party amid growing cracks between Labour and its biggest union backer.
The decision, taken at Unite's policy conference in Brighton, marks a tumultuous time for the party, with the union having long been one of Labour's biggest financial backers.
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A Labour source has since claimed that Rayner had given up her membership several months previously, despite the registered list of ministers' interests listing her as a member as recently as the end of May 2025.
But speaking to LBC on Saturday, Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham accused the Deputy PM of “hiding” from the Birmingham bin strikes and “gameplaying” over her membership with the Union.
She also suggested Ms Rayner’s claim that she quit Unite “several months ago” may not be correct.
She said: “Angela Rayner has been a member of our union for a very long time, she remains a member.
“Now, of course, it may be in the next quarter, she might fall off, but, you know, that was what I would call gameplaying.
“Angela Rayner is hiding from this issue. She doesn't want to get anything.”
Ms Graham added that even the Conservative Party were better than Labour during pay negotiations for workers.
Labour’s position in Birmingham may be contributing the working class’ decision to abandon the party.
“The intriguing piece, but for me, the most important piece here is that actually workers are deserting Labour in droves,” she said.
It comes as Unite accused the Deputy Prime Minister of backing a council that had “peddled lies” during the recent Birmingham bin strikes.
The vote could result a formal split from the party, signalling yet another crisis for Sir Keir Starmer.
Unite said a recent conference vote had “overwhelmingly” supported the suspension of the Deputy PM.
The union said fire and rehire tactics had "effectively" been deployed against striking workers, who are taking industrial action in a dispute over pay and job conditions.
Rayner was previously a Unison representative, before becoming a Unite member.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite is crystal clear it will call out bad employers regardless of the colour of their rosette.
"Angela Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute but has instead backed a rogue council that has peddled lies and smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts.
“The disgraceful actions of the government and a so-called Labour council, is essentially fire and rehire and makes a joke of the Employment Relations Act promises.
“People up and down the country are asking whose side is the Labour government on and coming up with the answer not workers."
Birmingham council leader John Cotton and fellow Unite Birmingham councillors have also had their Unite membership suspended over the firing and rehiring accusations.
It follows pay cuts of up £8,000.
The union claims Birmingham’s government appointed commissioners, who, along with John Cotton, have never joined negotiations and have continually blocked deals to end the strike, answer directly to Angela Rayner.
Ms Rayner, Cotton and other the other Labour councillors have been suspended for “bringing the union into disrepute” according to Unite.
This will be followed by an investigation into their behaviour with a “view to expelling them from the union.”
The motion was voted on by 800 Unite delegates according to the union, with the voters representing sectors across the economy from automotive to the NHS.
It comes as Labour's hold over Birmingham City Council remains in doubt ahead of next year’s local elections, according to new polling data shared with LBC by the Unite union.
The independent survey, conducted by Find Out Now, asked 914 Birmingham residents how likely they were to vote Labour locally.
It found only 5% of respondents are likely or very likely to vote Labour in 2024.
Nearly half (47%) of those surveyed said they were very unlikely to vote for the party, while 12% indicated they were unlikely to do so.
Meanwhile, a Labour party source said: "The Labour Government has introduced the biggest upgrade in workers’ rights in a generation to address low pay, insecure work, and poor working conditions, which will benefit 15 million workers across the country. Only Labour is delivering the change working people voted for and so deserve."