Unite votes to suspend Angela Rayner over Birmingham bin strike

Labour's largest national donor, Unite, has voted to suspend Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner implicit her relation successful the Birmingham bin onslaught row.

Members of the commercialized union, 1 of the UK's largest, besides "overwhelmingly" voted to "re-examine its relationship" with Labour implicit the issue.

They said Ms Rayner, who is besides housing, communities and section authorities secretary, Birmingham Council's leader, John Cotton, and different Labour councillors had been suspended for "bringing the national into disrepute".

There was disorder implicit Ms Rayner's rank of Unite, with her bureau having said she was nary longer a subordinate and resigned months agone and truthful could not beryllium suspended.

But Unite said she was registered arsenic a member. Parliament's latest registry of interests had her down arsenic a subordinate successful May.

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The national said an exigency question was enactment to members astatine its argumentation league successful Brighton connected Friday.

Unite is 1 of the Labour Party's largest national donors, donating £414,610 successful the archetypal 4th of 2025 - the highest magnitude successful that play by a union, institution oregon individual.

The national condemned Birmingham's Labour assembly and the authorities for "attacking the bin workers".

Mountains of rubbish person been piling up successful the metropolis since January aft workers archetypal went connected onslaught implicit changes to their pay, with all-out onslaught enactment starting successful March. An statement has inactive not been made.

Ms Rayner and the councillors had their rank suspended for "effectively firing and rehiring the workers, who are striking implicit wage cuts of up to £8,000", the national added.

General caput Sharon Graham said: "Unite is crystal clear, it volition telephone retired atrocious employers careless of the colour of their rosette.

"Angela Rayner has had each accidental to intervene and resoluteness this quality but has alternatively backed a rogue assembly that has peddled lies and smeared its workers warring immense wage cuts.

"The disgraceful actions of the authorities and a alleged Labour council, is fundamentally occurrence and rehire and makes a gag of the Employment Relations Act promises.

"People up and down the state are asking whose broadside is the Labour authorities connected and coming up with the reply not workers."

Sir Keir Starmer's spokesperson said the government's "priority is and ever has been the residents of Birmingham".

He said the determination by Unite workers to spell connected onslaught had "caused disruption" to the city.

"We've worked to cleanable up streets and stay successful adjacent interaction with the assembly [...] arsenic we enactment its recovery," helium added.

A full of 800 Unite delegates voted connected the motion.