Angela Rayner has broken her longstanding silence over her boyfriend Sam Tarry’s deselection as the Labour candidate for Ilford South. At a fundraising dinner last night in Ilford, Rayner poured her heart out for her partner and “soulmate“, claiming she “hope[s] he continues” as a Labour MP and that it would be “a tragedy” to lose him:

“We’ve got to challenge ourselves, we’re a big Labour family, and like any family, we can fall out at times and have difference of opinions – but we’ve got to get rid of the Tories… Sam [Tarry] is one of the most kind-hearted, amazing individuals and he’s also my soulmate so… he’s a really good guy. And I actually think you’re incredibly lucky to have him as your MP because I get to see a lot of Sam, and I get to see a lot of behind the scenes, and I see how much he cares… I hope that he continues because it would be an absolute tragedy to lose someone like Sam as an MP.”

This is despite Jas Athwal, the man who beat Tarry to the selection as Labour’s Ilford South candidate, receiving the backing of Rayner’s Shadow Cabinet colleague Wes Streeting. Not to mention Tarry also calling in the lawyers against the party in an attempt to thwart his re-selection battle last year. When Tarry lost, his camp accused the Labour Party of “dirty tricks” and vote rigging. Does Angie endorse that too? Is she showing a bit of leg to the anti-Starmerites?