Keir Starmer has withdrawn from the dismissal of Labor leaders who defied his instructions and sided with the striking railway workers last week.
Labor leader Alan Campbell spoke with the five leaders: shadow minister Alex Sobel, whip Nav Mishra and three top private secretaries, who posted photos of themselves on the picket lines.
It is understood that the five were to be sent letters about their future conduct, but that all would be allowed to remain in office.
Mishra tweeted last Tuesday as the strikes began: “As a proud trade unionist, I stand by all the workers in our railway network who are carrying out industrial actions to fight for their jobs and protect travelers.”
Starmer issued a note last week ahead of the RMT union’s three-day strike, informing his front-line team that they should show “leadership” and that “leaders, including PPS, should not be at stake.”
Other leaders were unable to attend the picket lines, but made it clear that they supported the RMT’s decision to take industrial action. Starmer MP Angela Rayner tweeted: “Workers have not been left without a choice.”
Several deputies, many of them members of the Socialist Campaign of Left-wing MPs, also attended the picket lines to show their support for the striking workers.
At the time, Labor sources suggested that Starmer was inclined to take a hard line with those who had disobeyed his order, with one saying: “Keir’s Labor party is on the side of the public and our decisions are driven. “Not everyone will like it, and we are prepared for that, but that will show that we are a serious operation.”
Starmer and his allies were willing to dodge attempts by the Conservatives to present Labor as responsible for the strikes, even though the RMT is not even affiliated with the party.
However, his note infuriated some Labor MPs, including shadow cabinet members, who urged him privately not to take disciplinary action against junior leaders who attended the picket lines. One called the queue “a talk for nothing.”
Left-wing MPs are concerned about the party’s drift towards the center under Starmer, who won the lead with a prospect of maintaining many of the policies put forward by Jeremy Corbyn.
Sign up for First Edition, our free daily newsletter, every weekday morning at 7:00 BST
The Labor leader confirmed on Tuesday that he had completely set aside the party’s 2019 radical manifesto. “What we have done with the latest manifesto is to put it aside. Let’s start from scratch. The blackboard has been cleaned up, ”he said at a New Statesman event.
“What we need to recognize is that after the pandemic passes, we need to look at everything and make decisions about where we want to put our money.”
Starmer also declined to say whether he would keep his promise to eliminate tuition fees he made during his leadership campaign, though he said the current agreements “don’t really work for students” and that Labor they will look at them.
He defended the right of politicians to change their minds, saying, “If you don’t change your opinions while experiencing life, you probably won’t get very far.”