Newlinks for Friday 13th February 2026

Rayner turns on Starmer over pubs as union chief calls for her to replace PM

“Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham have called for more tax support for pubs in a fresh challenge to Sir Keir Starmer’s authority. The two Labour figures, tipped as potential rivals in a future leadership contest, suggested the Prime Minister should cut VAT to ease pressure on struggling businesses. On Thursday, Ms Rayner was also backed by a trade union leader who told The Telegraph she should replace Sir Keir if Labour finish third in the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election. The Prime Minister is also facing pressure to soften his immigration clampdown, with 35 Labour MPs, largely on the Left, signing a letter calling the approach “deeply unfair”. Meanwhile, Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, described the scandals that have dogged the party in recent weeks as “unforgivable”. The moves are all signs of the Left pressuring the Prime Minister to change his policy agenda as he tries to cling on to power. Sir Keir’s position remains severely weakened following the fallout from the Lord Mandelson scandal.” – Daily Telegraph

• Angela Rayner urges Keir Starmer to ‘do better’ on hospitality – The Times
• Union chief calls for Angela Rayner to replace Keir Starmer or risk Labour defeat to Reform UK – The Guardian
• Trade union chief calls for Rayner to replace Starmer as they ‘want someone who can stand up to Trump’ – Daily Mail
• Will Starmer’s women problem hand Rayner the keys to No 10? – Daily Telegraph

Comment:

• Survival for Keir Starmer means a new set of captors – Patrick Maguire, The Times
• I must be hallucinating, DJ Rayner just questioned the minimum wage – Ed Cumming, Daily Telegraph
• Lurch to the left won’t get us out of this state – Emma Duncan, The Times
• Under Labour, Britain is heading for its John Galt moment – Lord Frost, Daily Telegraph
• This Manchester by-election will prove why Starmer has lost the working class – Sherelle Jacobs, Daily Telegraph

> Yesterday:

PM ousts top civil servant in attempt to relaunch his leadership with No 10 shake-up

“Keir Starmer was on Thursday night accused of throwing another member of his top team under the bus to save his own skin. As the turmoil in his floundering government deepened, the Prime Minister forced out Sir Chris Wormald barely a year after appointing him as head of Britain’s civil service. His dramatic move came hours after an extraordinary farce in which Downing Street would not say who held the Cabinet Secretary job. In a sign of the chaos in No 10, the role was last night split between a trio of temporary incumbents. And it means that, in less than a week, Sir Keir has lost three of the most senior people he has appointed, following the resignations of Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney on Sunday and Director of Communications Tim Allan the following day. Mr McSweeney was replaced by two temporary chiefs of staff, further swelling the number of decision makers. The PM is facing mounting questions over who is running his government, plunged into disarray by the Mandelson scandal. Only last week, Sir Chris was given the key role of overseeing the publication of the documents that led to the disgraced New Labour grandee’s appointment as US ambassador.” – Daily Mail

• Starmer ousts cabinet secretary in clear-out of top team after Mandelson scandal – The Guardian
• No 10 reset row after third senior official goes in a week – The i
• Minister refuses to say £260k payout for ex-Cabinet Secretary Sir Chris Wormald is ‘value for money’ for taxpayers – The Standard
• Tories and Lib Dems criticise Starmer’s judgement following ousting of top civil servant – Sky News
• Starmer to force through preferred Cabinet Secretary despite warnings – Daily Telegraph

Comment:

• Sometimes a scandal doesn’t call for scalps – Hugo Rifkind, The Times
• Yes, the No 10 boys’ club is real. But it’s the least of Starmer’s failures – Tom Harris, Daily Telegraph

> Today:

> Yesterday:

Labour opens door to trans children in primary schools

“Pupils will be allowed to change their gender at school and use different pronouns, including in some “rare” instances those as young as four. New guidance issued by Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, will allow children to use pronouns of the opposite sex but only after schools have consulted with parents. It says clinical advice should be taken into account. Primary schools are told to exercise particular caution because allowing children to change their gender can put them on an “irrevocable pathway” and have significant, lasting effects. “We would expect support for full social transition [including changing names, pronouns and uniform] to be agreed very rarely,” the new rules say. It represents a significant change from guidance proposed by the Tories in 2023, when they were in power, which included an outright ban on the use of different pronouns for primary aged children. The new guidance states that schools should not “initiate any action” in suggesting that children change their gender. It points to the fact that some children “engage in activities that are less typically associated with their sex”.” – The Times

• Trans guidance for schools says pupils can socially transition with ‘caution’ but girls’ toilets must remain female-only – Daily Mail
• Kids will be allowed to change gender at school under Labour’s controversial new trans guidance – The Sun
• Children allowed to change gender at primary school – Daily Telegraph

News in brief:

• Modern slavery claims are crippling Labour’s immigration agenda – Chris Bayliss, UnHerd
• Why was Jim Ratcliffe punished for speaking the truth? – Brendan O’Neill, The Spectator
• Thatcherism’s ownership revolution isn’t over – Harry Scoffin, CapX
• Mind your business Britain – Felix Hardinge, The Critic