Following the announcement that Keir Starmer is resigning as leader of the Labour Party and will step down as prime minister in September, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said:
 
 “Keir Starmer’s decision to resign was the honourable and right decision.
 
“It is critical now that Labour focuses on delivering for workers and communities.
 
“There is no time to waste, everyday people are literally on their knees. Labour has one last shot to learn from the errors of the last two years. A failure to act, will result in a doomsday scenario for Labour.

“In the short term we need policies that make workers’ lives easier. There must be action to end the freeze on tax thresholds, reversing the fiscal drag, that has pulled workers into unfair tax bands.
 
“Action must be taken immediately on the energy price cap, bill payers are paying hundreds of pounds to profiteers every year, that must end.
 
“There must also be immediate action on industrial strategy, with investment in jobs and industry. That investment must be made now and not at some far off point in the future.

‘Given that a contest looks unlikely, we need to move swiftly to policy discussions so the political and economic direction is clear.”

ENDS