Keir Starmer’s panic reshuffle was already unravelling last night with questions raised about his two highest profile appointments.
Jewish leaders complained that new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was a pro-Palestinian ‘activist’ who ‘encouraged mob rule’.
Just ten days before Donald Trump’s State visit to the UK, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper made headlines with her outspoken criticisms of the US President, accusing him of ‘Islamophobia, xenophobia, and hatred’.
On Friday, the Prime Minister had to conduct an emergency reshuffle following Angela Rayner’s resignation due to her failure to pay up to £40,000 in taxes on a luxury seaside apartment.
Many within the Labour Party suspect that a rumored conflict between Mrs. Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves contributed to the former Deputy Prime Minister’s rapid downfall.
The discord between the two became public in May when a memo from Mrs. Rayner to Ms. Reeves—pressuring her to increase taxes, including cutting stamp duty loopholes—was ‘leaked’.
Some Labour MPs are convinced that the Treasury played a part in igniting the media upheaval after The Mail on Sunday’s front-page story revealed that the Housing Secretary had purchased an £800,000 flat in Hove.
The situation escalated when it emerged she declared the flat as her primary residence to circumvent the higher stamp duty for second homes. MPs suspect this information was leaked from within Whitehall.
Jewish leaders have complained that new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood (left) was a pro-Palestinian ‘activist’ who ‘encouraged mob rule’
Just ten days before Donald Trump’s State visit to the UK, previous criticisms made by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper about the US President have emerged in which she accused him of ‘Islamophobia, xenophobia and hatred’
The Prime Minister was forced into an emergency reshuffle on Friday after Angela Rayner’s resignation for failing to pay up to £40,000 in tax owed on a luxury seaside flat
Treasury sources however strongly denied that Ms Reeves or any of her allies had leaked sensitive information about Ms Rayner.
Friction between the two Cabinet ministers came to a head in July when Ms Rayner helped force Sir Keir to back down on plans to cut welfare spending, which some of the MPs believe contributed to Ms Reeves crying in the Commons.
Ms Mahmood has taken part in a number of pro-Palestine marches in the past ten years and attended protests organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
She joined the picket of a Sainsbury’s store in Birmingham with other pro-Palestine activists in 2014, forcing it to close for five hours.
She and others from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement accused the store of stocking goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Mike Freer, then a Tory MP, said at the time: ‘For any parliamentarian to encourage mob rule as a way of protesting is shameful.’
Ms Mahmood also did not take part in the vote that led to the banning of Palestine Action after activists damaged planes at RAF Brize Norton – a ban she will now have to defend in court after supporters were granted permission for a legal challenge.
Sources close to Ms Mahmood said she had been away from the Commons that day and would have voted for the ban.
Many Labour MPs believe an alleged feud between Mrs Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves helped to accelerate the downfall of the former Deputy Prime Minister
One said: ‘Shabana is a long-standing believer in a two state solution in Israel and Palestine. She supported the proscription of Palestine Action and will defend it in the courts as Home Secretary.’
Other Labour figures rallied to Ms Mahmood’s defence.
Michael Rubin, director of Labour Friends of Israel, told the Mail on Sunday: ‘Shabana stood with the Jewish community in the battle against antisemitism in the Labour Party.
‘She is an ally in the pursuit of a two-state solution and using outdated stories to mischaracterise what she believes is totally unfair.’
A Jewish Labour MP said: ‘She’s a long-standing ally of Jewish community, including when she was instrumental in building Labour Together, funded by several prominent Jewish donors.
‘She is a supporter of a safe and secure Israel alongside a sovereign Palestine.’
But Fiona Sharpe, of Labour Against Antisemitism, said: ‘In the past she has aligned herself with causes and rhetoric troubling to many, particularly in the Jewish community.
‘We hope she will be meeting with the Jewish community… to clarify her views.’
There was anger at Sir Keir for naming Justice Secretary David Lammy as deputy before waiting for members to choose
Ms Cooper – then a backbencher – made her remarks about Mr Trump in 2017, when he was a year into his first term.
She claimed he had built his campaign for the presidency ‘on vitriol and abuse’, adding: ‘The aggressive misogyny, the violent language towards Hillary Clinton, the Islamophobia, the xenophobia, the hatred. And he hasn’t stopped since he got into the Oval Office.’
Tonight, a Foreign Office source said she will play ‘a key role’ during Mr Trump’s visit, and as Home Secretary had ‘worked closely with the Trump administration on a range of security and migration issues’.
Yesterday there were suggestions from local sources near Mrs Rayner’s Ashton-under-Lyne constituency that she may quit the Commons, raising the prospect of Manchester mayor Andy Burnham standing in the by-election as a precursor to a leadership bid.
But even if she stays on in the Commons, Mrs Rayner’s resignation as deputy leader has plunged the party into a bitter row over who replaces her in that role.
One MP said Sir Keir’s inner circle had been desperate to ‘remove Angie’ to stop her taking over if he was forced out after Welsh Parliament and council elections next year.
There was also anger at Sir Keir for naming Justice Secretary David Lammy as deputy before waiting for members to choose.
There were predictions the contest would be between a ‘leadership approved’ candidate such as Mr Lammy or Ms Mahmood, and a ‘rebel’ elected by party members.
Friends of ex-Cabinet Minister Louise Haigh did not rule out her going for the role.
There were also claims many new MPs would back Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, and it is expected that Left-wing MP Rosena Allin-Khan will stand.
Source close to Dr Allin-Khan said she had yet to decide whether to stand but added: ‘Rosena isn’t part of any faction – so she could definitely be the candidate who brings the party closer together.
‘She’s had lots of people contacting her encouraging her to stand – they see her as a candidate that could represent the broad church that Labour is.’
Ms Nandy declined to comment on her intentions.
One minister said whatever the final line-up of contenders ‘there’s going to be carnage’.
