The deputy party leader may be riding high but she risks putting off working-class voters if she keeps ramming home her roots
Is Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, resting on her working-class laurels rather too much? She emerged triumphant from the recent byelection/reshuffle not only having avoided being demoted by Keir Starmer, but gaining more positions and power, with some claiming that she could win a leadership contest. Really? I’ve found Rayner’s behaviour snaky; if she’d thrown Starmer under the bus any harder, he’d be scrubbing tyre marks off the front of his shirt. It’s also said she’s been briefing against him. Still, that’s politics. Why shouldn’t she be ambitious, even ruthless? But there’s another big problem with Rayner: the relentless pushing of her backstory.
She is hardly alone in this: I’m no slouch when it comes to flashing my own working-class origins and impeccable council-house credentials. And Rayner’s story is powerful: she left school at 16, pregnant, without qualifications, becoming a social care worker and union rep, before entering politics. Impressive. Working-class visibility in Westminster is important; the insights gained from experience are hugely valuable.
