Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner joined the party’s under-fire Welsh leader Vaughan Gething today as she helped launch his election campaign in the country.
Ms Rayner travelled to Llandudno for an event alongside the new First Minister, just a week after his Senedd power-sharing agreement with Plaid Cymru collapsed.
The nationalists backed out amid concerns over donations worth £200,000 received by Mr Gething for his leadership campaign from businessman David Neal, a convicted polluter who dumped waste on a conservation site.
The situation has strong echoes of that surrounding former Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf, who resigned earlier this month after losing the support of the Scottish Greens for dropping ambitious green policies.
Mr Gething is also at the centre of an internal Welsh Labour row, after firing a senior minister for leaking WhatApp messages suggesting he deliberately deleted evidence of his actions during the Covid pandemic.
Ms Rayner is also facing a controversy of her own. Greater Manchester Police is understood to be investigating potential breaches of electoral law, a failure to pay capital gains tax and whether a single-occupancy council tax discount on a former home was falsely claimed by Sir Keir Starmer‘s deputy.
Ms Rayner travelled to Llandudno for an event alongside the new First Minister, just a week after his Senedd power-sharing agreement with Plaid Cymru collapsed.
The nationalists backed out amid concerns over donations worth £200,000 received by Mr Gething for his leadership campaign from businessman David Neal, a convicted polluter who dumped waste on a conservation site.
Ms Rayner is also facing a controversy of her own. Greater Manchester Police is understood to be investigating potential breaches of electoral law, a failure to pay capital gains tax and whether a single-occupancy council tax discount on a former home was falsely claimed by Sir Keir Starmer ‘s deputy.
Chief Constable Stephen Watson last week insisted his officers would examine the claims being made against her ‘fairly, impartially’ and ‘go where the evidence leads us’.
Legal experts say there is no reason for police to pause the probe now campaigning has begun, meaning she – and Labour – could face weeks of uncertainty.
Ms Rayner, in her role as Shadow Housing Secretary, is also the face of Labour’s landmark house building policy.