Starmer’s Labour branded ‘austerity-lite’ and ‘rudderless’ in scathing attack on PM by Unite boss

Starmer’s Labour branded ‘austerity-lite’ and ‘rudderless’ in scathing attack on PM by Unite boss

Tara Cobham

Tue, December 30, 2025 at 8:42 AM UTC

2 min read

Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has been branded “austerity-lite” and “rudderless” in a scathing attack by the head of one of the UK’s largest unions.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham warned the government that a failure to prioritise workers in 2026 could lead to “sowing the seeds of its own destruction”.

She also criticised Labour for being overly preoccupied with its “failing leadership” and potential successors to Sir Keir, rather than addressing the nation's pressing issues.

Writing in The Times, Ms Graham said: “For too long it has been everyday people, workers and communities who have paid the price for crisis after crisis not of their making. In 2026, this must stop.

“The government needs to decide what it stands for and who it stands for. If we have to ask, it is not working.

“The party faithful can agonise about its failing leadership and a ‘night of the long knives’. But a new Labour leadership with the same policies simply won’t cut it. The doom loop cannot be broken with more austerity lite, no matter who is in Downing Street.

“Britain needs vision. We led the first Industrial Revolution and we are nowhere in the fourth. Rudderless.”

Sharon Graham wants the government to back workers in 2026 (PA Archive)

Unite, notably the only affiliated union not to endorse the manifesto, has consistently challenged Labour on key policies.

In her op-ed piece, Ms Graham highlighted the party’s opposition to the winter fuel allowance cut and “the self-harm of net zero targets that came without the needed investment in new industries”.

Further criticising the government’s recent budget choices, she argued that “opting for stealth taxes on workers instead of a wealth tax on the mega-rich was the wrong choice”.

She stated: “Labour must stop being embarrassed to be the voice of workers. Workers are fed up with carrying the can.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure to prioritise workers (PA Wire)

Ms Graham attributed the UK's poor productivity not to its workforce, but to an “investment strike in UK plc”, describing it as a “collective failure to invest in industry, while maximising returns for shareholders”.

Concluding her piece, she reiterated her stark warning: “Next year Labour must deliver real growth, borrow to invest in Britain to create a sustainable future.

“In the coming year, if this government does not depart from its current path, it will surely be sowing the seeds of its own destruction.”

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