Labour’s biggest union backer eyes party split
Labour’s biggest union backer is considering a significant vote to split from the party in another blow to Starmer’s leadership.
Senior officials at the UK’s largest trade union Unite are in talks about whether to call an emergency conference to vote on formal disaffiliation from the Labour party, according to reports from The Telegraph.
Sources say there is “intense frustration” with Starmer from the top of the union to grass-roots memberships.
This has left some Labour MPs to believe that Unite’s support can only be claimed back by a change of party leader.
One said: “They would coalesce around one candidate on the left of the party.”
Largest fracture
The split would mark the biggest fracture between the party and the trade union movement in recent history, with one MP stating it would be “very difficult” to remain Prime Minister if the move went ahead.
They said: “This is a major union, it is a major player within the wider Labour movement.
“It is a critically important relationship, but it has become dysfunctional.”
General Secretary of Unite, Sharon Graham, has previously threatened to break the union’s link with the party on the eve of Labour’s conference.
Graham, who became leader in 2021, has been a long time critic of Starmer, accusing him of lacking vision.
The union has campaigned against his decision to cut winter fuel allowance for pensioners, which was later reversed, and has called for more taxes on the wealthy.
She also cited the Budget as “an absolutely critical point of us knowing whether direction is going to change.”
Meanwhile Unison, another major backer, has just balloted its members for a new general secretary.
One of the candidates, Andrea Egan, has already publicly distanced herself from Starmer.
Rivals attempting to lure unions
According to The Telegraph, rival camps are attempting to woo the unions, whose support is viewed as critical for future leadership candidacy.
Donations to Labour from all the major unions, including Unite, Unison and the GMB, has meanwhile plummeted since Starmer took office in July 2024.
In the year ending September 2025, trade unions gave Labour £5.3m, which is the third-lowest on record going back to 2001, according to the Electoral Commission.
While Unite members need to vote on a formal disaffiliation at the next rules conference, which is scheduled for 2027, it can be brought forward if the executive council calls for an emergency rules conference, which is being considered.