Angela Rayner gave her resignation speech in the House of Commons this afternoon, as the Pygge revealed she would last week. And, as predicted, she was “incapable of being boring” as usual.
Rayner made clear that while her official titles have been surrendered following a tax scandal, she is firmly holding onto her position as one of Labour’s “big beasts”.
She spoke proudly of her “socialist values” and said “my title may have changed but the strength and the character of the people of my constituency have not.” She would carry on representing them, she said, “wherever I sit” in the Commons.
She dwelt briefly on the events that led to her departure as deputy prime minister, housing secretary and deputy Labour leader. “The last few weeks have been incredibly tough on my family with my personal life so much in the public eye,” she said, adding “I have always believed in the highest standards of transparency and accountability”.
The underpayment of stamp duty on a residential property was partly the result of one of her children having a disability. She said of the mistake she inadvertently made: “I hope other families in the situation may now be aware of that.”
There was a good turnout on the front bench to hear the speech. Chancellor Rachel Reeves and chief whip Jonny Reynolds were there listening along with her successor as DPM David Lammy, her successor as housing secretary Steve Reed, and education secretary Bridget Phillipson, who is fighting to succeed her as deputy leader of the party. That she held all three jobs is a reminder of the clout Rayner has lost since the scandal.
One Cabinet minister has already called for her to return. Wes Streeting said at conference of Rayner: “we want her back, we need her back”. It is likely that she will have a second act at the frontline of Labour politics, if not in this iteration of the current government.
When I speak to pollsters about their focus groups, they still say that Rayner is one of only four current politicians in Britain who has widespread, instant name recognition with the general public – the others are Nigel Farage, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
Despite the smiles and good feelings in the chamber, Rayner’s departure was followed by a pretty ruthless reshuffle that cleared out her ministerial team and purged her allies from other departments. Sitting around her on the backbenches were a number of sacked ministers who were sacked by Keir Starmer during Rayner’s moment of greatest weakness. She thanked some of them in her speech and spoke up for the Employment Rights Bill, amid fears that its ministerial champions have all now left government.
She closed with some perspective: “As tough a politics can be, it is nothing, nothing compared to what thousands of my constituents and this country face every single day.” Watch this space.
[Further reading: Nobody can replace Angela Rayner]
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