Rayner pushing Starmer to follow Macron and recognise Palestine
The Deputy Prime Minister is understood to be '100 per cent' behind other Cabinet ministers pressuring the Prime Minister over the decision.
A third of Labour MPs signed a letter on Friday saying it was time for 'immediate recognition'.
It comes after Emmanuel Macron, the French president, pledged to recognise Palestine as a state at the next UN General Assembly in September.
The Labour Government backs Palestinian statehood but has argued for months that it should be formally recognised at the right moment to further peace in the region.
However, there is growing pressure in the party for a change to be made sooner.
An ally of Ms Rayner told The Telegraph: 'She absolutely thinks it has to happen, 100 per cent. She realises the massive electoral consequences of it.
'We are in a much, much worse place now. We would lose 20 seats over the issue at the moment, not five.'
At the last general election, Labour shed votes on the left to several independent pro-Gaza candidates. It is also likely to face further pressure after Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana launched their new hard-Left party.
In a statement issued after a phone call on Friday evening, Mr Macron, the French President, Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor and Sir Keir said the 'appalling scenes in Gaza are unrelenting' and appeared to criticise Israel over the 'starvation and denial of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people'.
But Sir Keir has so far stopped short of saying when he will recognise a Palestinian state.
Ms Rayner is one of several cabinet ministers understood to be increasingly pressing Sir Keir to take the move.
Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, also wants the Prime Minister to pivot to a policy of immediate recognition, according to the Guardian.
His view is shared by Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland Secretary, and Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary.
Speaking on Thursday night, Ms Mahood said that while British recognition of Palestine would have 'multiple benefits' and send a 'strong message' to Israel, the immediate priority must be delivering aid to Gaza.
Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, also wants to see Palestine recognised straight away, according to Bloomberg.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also repeated his calls on social media on Friday for a Palestinian state to be recognised by the UK.
The Government's language towards the Israeli government has hardened considerably in recent weeks amid increasing humanitarian concern.
Peter Kyle, the Science Secretary, told Sky News the situation was 'untenable', saying: 'Like any other person, I look at these images and I am deeply, deeply offended by them.
'The people of the region have been let down by successful generations of lots of world leaders but including particularly the leadership in the region itself, who have failed to deliver the kind of leadership that could have solved this problem.'
Meanwhile, 221 MPs from across different political parties have urged the Government to recognise a Palestinian state ahead of a United Nations conference in New York next week.
The MPs' letter, co-ordinated by Labour's Sarah Champion, chairwoman of the International Development Select Committee, said: 'We are expectant that the outcome of the conference will be the UK Government outlining when and how it will act on its long-standing commitment on a two-state solution; as well as how it will work with international partners to make this a reality.'
Parliamentarians from Labour, the Conservatives, Lib Dems, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and independents are amongst those who signed the letter.
Some 135 Labour MPs – one in three – signed the letter, indicating the strength of feeling on the matter across the backbenches in Sir Keir's party.
In a video posted on social media on Friday, Mr Sarwar said: 'I have long supported the immediate recognition of the State of Palestine and continue to do so. But whilst pressing for that, we must see the end of the war right now.
'What we're seeing on our screens and in our social media feeds is intolerable, unjustifiable and heartbreaking. The mass starvation of a population, the innocent killing of innocent civilians and the destruction of infrastructure.
'That's why we need an immediate ceasefire – we need the free flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, we need to see the end of illegal occupation and the pathway to a two-state solution.'
He called for the release of the 50 remaining Israeli hostages who are still being held in captivity by Hamas.
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