Angela Rayner hits out at Westminster ‘arrogant tittle tattle’ in first interview since resignation
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Angela Rayner has hit out at Westminster’s in-fighting, labelling it “arrogant tittle tattle”, as she urged leaders to focus on the issues that matter in her first interview since stepping down as deputy prime minister.
Ms Rayer vowed to “keep fighting” for ordinary people and denied having taken a step back from frontline politics, in an interview with The Mirror from her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency.
“I’ve not gone away,” she said when asked if she would consider making a return, adding she was “humbled” to have more time to spend in her Greater Manchester constituency.
Ms Rayner said that despite previously holding several front bench positions in Labour, she has always “brought it back” to the people she was there to represent.
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Angela Rayner quit Government last month over her tax affairs (Aaron Chown/PA) (PA Wire)
The interview comes after a week of intense political in-fighting in Westminster, with rumours health secretary Wes Streeting was angling a leadership challenge to Sir Keir Starmer.
But Ms Rayner blasted the behaviour as “arrogant” and said working in the constituency is where MPs should be focused.
“I think Wes has clearly set out his stall after what was clearly a very turbulent couple of days and I think being around here for the last hour just shows you actually that that tittle tattle in Westminster it almost looks arrogant when you’ve got real challenges that real people are facing and that’s what we really need to be focusing on,” she explained.
Ms Rayner gave the interview during a visit to the Hurst Hall Care Centre, where she discussed her passion for workers rights. A former carer herself, she said listening to the experiences of others had encouraged her to press ahead with the party’s landmark Employment Rights Bill.
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Ms Rayner remains the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne (Getty Images)
“I feel a bit angry because care workers, they’re almost forgotten, and everyone values them,” she said.
She added:“The message from me being here is that this is what it’s about. It’s not about the argy-bargy of whether you want to score or land a blow on the Government, this is about real people’s lives, it’s about providing services, and that’s why I came here today to tell them that this is what I fought for in Government, and this is what I’m fighting for now as a backbencher.”
Ms Rayner stepped down as deputy prime minister in September after admitting to underpaying stamp duty on a property in Hove.
