Wednesday 22 June 2022 08:53 AM Keir STILL missing in action as Labour MPs queue up to defy him on strikes trends now
Keir Starmer is still missing in action today as his own MPs accuse him of 'getting it wrong' on rail strikes.
The Labour leader faces a mounting revolt after dozens joined picket lines to show support for industrial action crippling the country.
They included at least four front benchers, even though Sir Keir ordered them to shun the protests. Extraordinarily, shadow rail minister Tan Dhesi claimed last night that he had not even seen the edict from the leader's office.
Deputy leader Angela Rayner inflamed simmering tensions by openly backing the strikes, saying the RMT union had 'no choice' as it demands a pay rise of more than 7 per cent.
But Sir Keir himself was accused of into 'hiding' after refusing to make any comment on the biggest industrial dispute for 30 years.
He will have to surface later with the weekly PMQs session due at noon - and Boris Johnson certain to revel in his discomfort.
Keir Starmer (pictured in Wakefield at the weekend) faces a mounting revolt after dozens joined picket lines to show support for industrial action crippling the country
Red line: Labour MPs at London's Victoria station yesterday, from left: 1. Beth Winter (Cynon Valley), 2. Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside), 3. Rachael Maskell (York Central), 4. Ian Mearns (Gateshead), 5. Richard Burgon (Leeds East), 6. Zarah Sultana (Coventry South), 7. Ian Byrne (Liverpool West Derby), 8. Rebecca Long-Bailey (Salford and Eccles), 9. Dan Carden (Liverpool Walton), 10. Paula Barker (Liverpool Wavertree)
The PM has branded the strike 'wrong and unnecessary' and called for a return to negotiations.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps accused Labour and the unions of 'taking us back to the bad old days' of the 1970s.
He added of Sir Keir: 'The Left senses his weakness and is humiliating him with every Labour MP appearance on a picket line. He has lost his grip on his own party.'
The fallout from the strike was continuing today, with the RMT spreading three days of action across the week to cause maximum pain.
Less than than 20 per cent of services ran yesterday. Nine out of ten services in
