The SNP’s Stephen Flynn used his question at PMQs to dig at Rayner over Labour’s USA campaining trip:
“In today’s spirit of cross party working, will the Deputy Prime Minister join me in applauding the brave Labour staff members who’ve travelled across the Atlantic to campaign against Donald Trump?”
In response Rayner issued the Labour line verbatim: “People in their own time often go and campaign and that’s what we’ve seen. It happens in all political parties – people go and campaign and they do what they want to do in their own time with their own money.“ While housed by Dems…
Penny Mordaunt, Angela Rayner, Stephen Flynn, Daisy Cooper, Carla Denyer, Rhun ap Iorwerth and Nigel Farage will tonight be representing their parties in the first seven-way debate of the General Election campaign from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on BBC. After today’s fallout over Sunak’s grovelling apology following his D-Day ditching, Penny will be facing a tough crowd. Considering she posted a photo of her meeting veterans in five years ago, the assumption is that the sword carrier didn’t go to Normandy off her own back. No doubt Nigel, who was in France all day yesterday, will crucify her and Sunak over that…
All eyes will be on Rayner, who’s clearly courting the left wing to balance Starmer’s centrist approach. She’s been pushing Starmer’s buttons all campaign – first defying him on Abbott, then doubling down on her anti-Trident stance from 2016. Look out for her to stray from the leader’s script again when she goes head to head with Farage…
Labour’s nervous about losing votes to Reform, so Rayner will hammer home that only Labour can boot the Tories out. Mordaunt will likely hit back, accusing Labour of plotting the infamous £2,000 tax hike and pointing to Rachel Reeves’ rumoured tax increases. The possible outcome for Penny Mordaunt is that it crucifies her leadership campaign before the starting gun has been fired…
Speaking to Sky News off the back of Rachel Reeves’ Air Passenger Duty hike, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said:
“Labour is dependent on those Red Wall seats, and yet every move she makes poisons economic growth and damages the UK’s recovery… it’s the Chancellor who stumbles from policy misstep to policy misstep… I think her policy decisions are incredibly stupid.”