One thing about the @AngelaRayner 'sacking': tensions between her and @Keir_Starmer have until now been under the radar and conducted by proxies for both sides.
Will be interesting to see what both say publicly in coming hours. And whether it's plausible.
Will be interesting to see what both say publicly in coming hours. And whether it's plausible.
Gaya Sriskanthan, Momentum co-chair, responds to the news that Angela Rayner is to be sacked as party chair:
"Angela Rayner's sacking is blatant scapegoating."
"Angela Rayner's sacking is blatant scapegoating."
One ex-Corbyn era Labour staffer: "This Angela decision is probably one of the stupidest political decisions a leaders office has made in a very long time. And that includes putting Richard Burgon on the front bench."
Big Q is what job she gets next and how her talents are deployed. Different wings of party felt @AngelaRayner stint at shadow education was impressive.
Worth noting this too after Labour's hammering among working class voters: her frustration at Corbyn devoting billions to abolishing student tuition fees while giving relatively little to early years spending was classic eg of middleclass v working class worldview
But Starmer is getting support from some MPs. Here's one: "I'm delighted Keir's done this. She needs to take her share of the blame for the campaign she was in charge of. What was the slogan of our campaign? There wasn't one..
"Her presentations to the PLP on the campaign updates were streams of consciousness. She's also been making life difficult for David Evans [party general secretary]. It had to stop."
If she ends up with a public-facing shadow cabinet job, weird thing about this is it could all have been packaged as a promotion not a kneecapping.
Which takes me back to my first tweet.
Which takes me back to my first tweet.
Another Labour insider furious at Rayner sacking: "Angela Rayner was not responsible for the [May elections] slogan. That was completely the responsibility of those obsessed with focus groups.."
Ie Leader's office.
Ie Leader's office.
I wrote this yesterday fwiw: "a culling of his frontbench may jar with his pledge to take personal responsibility for the defeats".
huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/keir-sta…
huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/keir-sta…
Plus: "Starmer doesn’t need armchair punditry, podcaster chin-stroking or advice from Twitter. He can’t easily wave a magic wand when struggling against incumbency (Lab doing well in Wales shows how a sitting govts benefit from Covid competence) +long-term fissures in Lab coaltn"
Rayner sacking reminds me of that classic old joke:
"Deputy heads must roll!"
"Deputy heads must roll!"
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
