Keir Starmer facing pressure at Labour conference over pay rises and picketing

theguardian.com:

Labour will come under pressure to support inflation-matching pay increases, joining picket lines, renationalisation and the return of Jeremy Corbyn as a party candidate, in a crucial annual conference for Keir Starmer.

The Labour leader will use next weekend’s conference to set out key dividing lines after the government’s mini-budget on Friday, with announcements on tax cuts, bankers’ bonuses and borrowing set to dominate the political debate for months to come.

However, the party will also be confronted with some of the issues that have caused divisions among the membership and MPs over the summer. Among them will be numerous demands from local parties to make it clear that Labour MPs can join picket lines, an issue likely to flare up again this autumn as more public sector workers contemplate strike action.

Starmer caused anger among MPs when hesacked frontbencher Sam Tarry after he joined a picket line of rail workers and backed pay increases that matched inflation. The party said he was fired for backing policies that had not been agreed by the leadership rather than his presence alongside striking workers. Labour frontbenchers had earlier been instructed not to join picket lines.

Several motions backed by the country’s most powerful unions have been submitted to the conference underlining the duty of MPs to support strikers. The unions hold significant power over what is discussed at the conference.

The issue causing the leadership most concern, however, is the demand from delegates for the party to back pay increases that match inflation – a headline policy for many unions. Starmer has not backed public sector pay increases in line with inflation, currently running at almost 10%, despite serious pressure.

Another clash