Shabana Mahmood has emerged as a key figure in the Labour leadership race. The home secretary was among a group of cabinet ministers who last week urged Keir Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure.
Now Mahmood, as chair of Labour’s ruling national executive committee (NEC), will play a crucial role in setting the terms of any contest. She is also close to Josh Simons, who announced last week that he was standing down as Labour MP for Makerfield to make way for Andy Burnham.
On Friday, the NEC gave permission for the Greater Manchester mayor to stand in the byelection. If Burnham wins, he has made clear he will challenge the Labour leader and seek to become prime minister.
Allies said the home secretary would be “scrupulous” in maintaining her independence and is unlikely to publicly endorse any candidate if a leadership contest does go ahead. But a senior Labour source said Mahmood would be a “kingmaker” behind the scenes, adding: “She’s powerful, given her government and NEC positions.”
The home secretary represents the “blue Labour” wing of the party that argues Labour must be robust on immigration and crime in order to see off the threat from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. “The locals are a reminder that there’s a fight on two sides, not one, and that voters lost to Reform are particularly damaging because of the seats that they are in,” a source close to Mahmood said.
In recent months she has become increasingly exasperated with Starmer, who has sought to water down her proposed immigration reforms. Mahmood is also frustrated with the prime minister’s timidity on policy and his reluctance to make decisions. In a recent interview with Tony Blair, she declared that her own approach to public service reform was: “Go big or go home.” The diminutive home secretary, who is 5ft tall, has said she inherited from her mother the “fierceness of many generations of small but mighty Kashmiri women”.
Mahmood’s plans to make migrants wait longer to be granted the right to stay in the UK have been deeply controversial among Labour MPs and members. But her reforming zeal, sharp political instincts and status in the party will ensure she remains a key player in the cabinet whoever becomes the next Labour leader.
Photograph by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
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