One ally of the ex-Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner – who was a crucial mediator during the massive welfare rebellion last summer – said she has a ‘history of spotting these brewing problems’
Angela Rayner could have been a contender on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me out Here jungle after her abrupt resignation as Deputy PM last year.
But in the end the former Cabinet minister wasn’t tempted to follow in Nigel Farage’s footsteps in 2022 and compete in bushtucker trials. It was also an indication she was not prepared to walk away from frontline politics and since leaving government has chosen her interventions carefully.
Before last year’s Budget she appeared in the audience of a Gordon Brown speech where the ex-PM demanded an end to the cruel two-child benefit limit. She has fought for leasehold reforms not to be watered-down, championed workers’ rights reforms, and the release of the Peter Mandelson files.
After Labour’s disaster of the Gorton and Denton by-election last month, she said it was a “wake-up call” for the government. “It’s time to really listen – and to reflect,” she added at the time.
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And on Tuesday evening she decided it was time to deliver some more blunt home truths as she gave a speech to the Andy Burnham-backed Mainstream group.
She did not mention Keir Starmer directly but said the survival of Labour was at stake and warned: “We’re running out of time.” She added: “The change that people wanted so desperately needs to be seen, it needs to be felt, and we have to show that it is a Labour government that will deliver it.”
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Crucially, she turned her fire on the government’s immigration reforms spearheaded by the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood. Over 100 Labour MPs have called on the government to re-think the proposals.
One ally of Ms Rayner – who was a crucial mediator during the massive welfare rebellion last summer – said she has a “history of spotting these brewing problems”. Whether her intervention sparks a government climbdown remains to be seen.
But it will no doubt reignite whispers in Westminster of Ms Rayner’s leadership ambitions as the Prime Minister braces for his most difficult test yet.
On May 7, millions of people will head to the polls in council elections across England. The fate of the next Scottish and Welsh Parliaments will be decided and many in Labour are bracing for a disaster. Ms Rayner’s intervention in the hours and days after those results could be her most crucial yet.