Tweet

The Times

1 Jul, 10 tweets, 3 min read

Exclusive: Supporters of Angela Rayner are preparing for her to challenge Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership of Labour if the party loses the by-election in Batley & Spen today thetimes.co.uk/article/angela…

The Times has learnt that MPs close to the deputy leader have been canvassing support among parliamentary colleagues and trade unions for the move

Senior figures at Unite, Labour’s biggest union backer, are willing to support a challenge but they have not discussed the idea with her directly and she has not told them she wants the job

Rayner would need the support of 40 MPs, or 20% of the parliamentary party, to force a contest

Labour’s ruling national executive committee would then set the time frame, with Starmer automatically on the ballot and party members deciding between the two

A close ally of Rayner said: “There’s definitely been people sounding out the possibility and urging her to run if the worst happens in Batley.”

Hard-left MPs said they had also been approached by Rayner’s supporters and were ready to throw their weight behind a challenge

One Corbynite said: “Angela’s people are speaking to a number of comrades"

While the hard-left Socialist Campaign Group of MPs numbers only in the low thirties, Rayner has a broader appeal to the middle of the party. Eighty-eight MPs supported her deputy leadership campaign last year

Rumours have spread in Westminster that Simon Fletcher, who held a senior role in Starmer’s leadership campaign, is advising Rayner

He denies involvement

Starmer’s spokesman insisted that he would not resign if Labour lost. “Keir…is determined to lead the party into the next general election”

The leader is also overhauling his advisers in an attempt to bring order to an operation which MPs say is disorganised and over-cautious

But a poll carried out by YouGov for Sky found that four in ten Labour members believed Starmer should resign if he loses the West Yorkshire seat today thetimes.co.uk/article/angela…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

More from @thetimes

The Times

@thetimes

3 Jul

Bexy Cameron was born into a sect that was notorious for exploitation and sexual abuse. Now she’s written a memoir about what it was like to grow up in a movement founded by a predator. thetimes.co.uk/article/inside…

Cameron was born into the Children of God, the notorious cult that, at its peak, had more than 10,000 members in 130 countries.

By the time she escaped at 15 there had been “experiences”, she says, alluding darkly to the sexual abuse of children for which the cult became infamous.

Read 12 tweets

The Times

@thetimes

3 Jul

@whippletom

Eighteen months. Half a billion doses in 178 countries. Thousands of lives saved.

The scientists behind the Oxford vaccine, Professors Sarah Gilbert and Catherine Green, tell @whippletom how they pulled it off. thetimes.co.uk/article/the-ox…

They called it a “Disease X” situation.

At some point, a completely new pathogen would emerge for which a completely new vaccine was required. And at Oxford’s Jenner Institute at the start of 2020, they were ready. 💉

The small problem, says Professor Sarah Gilbert, is that when Disease X arrived, no one had anticipated a very specific scenario. What if they themselves – the people working on that vaccine – ended up being in the same country as the disease?

Read 13 tweets

The Times

@thetimes

2 Jul

After almost three decades of rapid expansion, disruption and transformation, Jeff Bezos will finish his run as chief executive of Amazon next week

What comes next for the company? thetimes.co.uk/article/what-t…

Amazon now has more than 200 million Prime subscribers, more than 100 million smart home devices are connected to its Alexa voice assistant and users are estimated to have spent more than $10 billion during the company’s latest annual sale day last month

Industry analysts question the sustainability of this trajectory 📈

“There are obviously limits to the Prime membership penetration,” GlobalData Retail’s Neil Saunders says. “It’s not conceivable that that will continue to grow…you’ll just run out of people who are interested”

Read 11 tweets

The Times

@thetimes

2 Jul

@MCChappet

“According to recent statistics, there is no single region in the UK in which the average house price tallies with the average wages of millennials.”

Marie-Claire Chappet (@MCChappet) had to save 90% of her earnings for 10 years in order to buy a home. thetimes.co.uk/article/i-save…

@MCChappet

“Once I was working, I got into the habit of living on 10% of my earnings and saving 90%. This was, of course, only made possible by the privilege of living rent-free. For that, I am speechlessly grateful to my parents,” says @MCChappet.

“House prices have risen so starkly, steeply, and so out of step with stagnant wages it’s laughable.”

Read 11 tweets

The Times

@thetimes

1 Jul

@tangdidi

#WorldAtFive🌍: The Communist Party is obsessed with the past, but its centenary celebrations suppress some of its defining moments like famine, purges, and the Tiananmen Square massacre, writes @tangdidi.
thetimes.co.uk/article/the-hi…

Instead, President Xi when speaking at the event invoked a history of international humiliation, poverty and struggle to rouse the Chinese people and bolster party support.

@tangdidi

“Any attempt to deviate from the official narrative is described as “historical nihilism” and considered an attack on the party.” Says @tangdidi.

Read 7 tweets

The Times

@thetimes

30 Jun

#WorldAtFive 🇦🇫 : Afghanistan’s former president Hamid Karzai has described the 20-year Nato campaign in his country as a “military failure” that has allowed terrorism and extremism to flourish there, as the last US-led troops leave the war thetimes.co.uk/article/you-ha…

“The country is in shock, in such dire, dire straits,” Karzai told The Times at his home in Kabul. “Look at the scene. We are in shambles. The country is in conflict. There is immense suffering for the Afghan people."

Karzai, a politician and Pashtun tribal leader from Kandahar who led Afghanistan for nine years as president, continues to wield considerable influence both inside the country and abroad.

Read 4 tweets

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!