How the Labour movement’s darling was toppled, and what it means for the floundering Starmer project

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK/ ALEXANDROS MICHAILIDIS

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eople liked Angela Rayner, the UK’s deputy prime minister and housing secretary, and deputy leader of the Labour Party. The former care worker, herself from a working-class background, rose through the ranks of the trade union movement, became an MP, and was eventually second-in-command of Labour. She is charismatic, authentic, and a risk taker, all of which endeared her to her supporters.

But she took one risk too many. She paid a lower rate of property tax on a pricey seafront property and ignored advice that she should seek qualified tax counsel to confirm she was not liable for the higher rate — which, it turned out, she was.

Some newspapers got hold of the story, pieced together the details, and forced an ethics investigation, which compelled her to resign. Having been both housing secretary and a vociferous critic of Tory sleaze, the charge of hypocrisy has effectively ended Rayner’s career, precipitated an extensive ministerial reshuffle, and thrown the government into chaos. Here are four takeaways from Rayner’s brutal takedown.

Government of Self-Service

After multiple Tory scandals, Keir Starmer pledged a “government of service,” free of his predecessors’ sleaze. But Rayner is the fourth minister in just over a year to resign over personal scandal, to say nothing of the legal but distasteful generous donations to the Starmer wardrobe by Labour peer Lord Alli.

The anti-corruption minister (yep, you couldn’t make this up) resigned over allegations of corruption linked to the regime of her aunt, the deposed despot Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh. The transport secretary was sacked when a fraud conviction in her background was uncovered. The homelessness minister (this one’s quite the jaw-dropper, too) went after it was revealed she evicted the tenants at her London flat in order to hike the rent by £700, and now Rayner’s fallen over tax dodging.

Having pilloried the Conservatives over their disgraces, Labour has found keeping their own hands clean while in power quite the challenge, and their holier-than-thou rhetoric has come back to bite them hard.

A Relief for Reform

“She’s real,” was Reform leader Nigel Farage’s opinion of Rayner.

Indeed, the feisty redhead was seen as down-to-earth and authentic to her working-class roots, in obvious contrast to Starmer’s stultifying pomposity. She was the Labour politician most attractive to voters who would otherwise back Reform, and her departure has neutralized this threat to Nigel Farage’s movement. Even top-tier Tories had a somewhat grudging respect for her compelling personality; fusty Conservative traditionalist Jacob Rees-Mogg called her a “formidable communicator.”

Aspirational voters were also attracted by her backstory, unusually humble for a high-ranking politician. They saw her as different from the rest, untainted by the establishment. Her elected position as deputy leader of Labour (which she’s now resigned) and her popularity with the grass roots — she was the most popular minister among Labour members — meant the top job was hers for the taking if Starmer went. Reform, who had a buoyant conference in Birmingham the very day Rayner resigned, now have more reason than ever to be optimistic they can beat Labour, whose best offer to the working classes is now gone.

A Boon for a Resurgent Left

As well as attracting working-class voters, Rayner was Starmer’s bridge with the left, which felt abandoned by Labour’s post-2019 rightward shift. Her trade union background gave her strong links with the movement, and she worked on an employment rights bill that will empower the unions more than they have been in decades. She gave the Starmer project bona fide lefty credentials, which are now seriously undermined.

Meanwhile, fueled by the Gaza issue post-October 7, and running on a narrative of betrayal by Starmer, two far-left movements are stirring. The first are the Greens, who just elected their new leader, self-described eco-populist Zack Polanski, with 85% of the party vote. Like much of the eco-loon movement, his focus has shifted from climate to the Palestinian issue and the overthrow of capitalism. The second is Your Party, a radical outfit led by Jeremy Corbyn (now an independent MP) and Zara Sultana, a far-left MP suspended by Labour for rebelling during a key vote. It claims over 700,000 signups, and, like the Greens, could be a serious threat to Labour in seats where the Gaza issue is salient.

The Starmer Project, Umpteenth Version

Just days before the Rayner debacle, Keir Starmer revamped his internal Downing Street team and declared his government was now in Phase Two. He omitted any details of what Phase One had been about and did not elaborate on what Phase Two might mean in practice. Well, now he seems to be in Phase Three: Rayner’s departure as housing secretary led to a wide-ranging Cabinet reshuffle. The moves give every indication that Starmer did not believe much of his previous Cabinet — most of whom held those briefs in opposition — were up to their jobs.

Though Starmer certainly did not ask for Rayner’s resignation, he used the reshuffle to reset his government yet again, and the big story of the day was his appointment of home secretary. Shabana Mahmood, widely considered to be the government’s most effective minister, was promoted to the job from justice secretary, and is now responsible for tackling immigration, the thorny issue currently toxifying British politics. Her appointment means immigration is now the government’s top priority.

Other appointments and departmental rejigs hint at desperate attempts to achieve delivery, that elusive objective so critical to winning elections, and which the government has found out the hard way is very difficult indeed.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1078)