Keir Starmer: The PM accused of ‘freezing out’ key Labour Party member, Angela Rayner

Sir Keir Starmer has been the UK’s Prime Minister (PM) for just over a week now after the Labour Party won the general elections, ending the 14-year Tory government. As Starmer settles into his new role, he has several to hand out as well.

Indeed, the new PM has recently appointed his new cabinet and has been branded ‘ruthless’ for his choices. More recently, he has been accused of ‘freezing out’ a key member of his political party, Angela Rayner, as he gives out her jobs to other people, including Rachel Reeves, the new Chancellor, who has been labelled ‘deadly serious’.

Sir Keir Starmer may be ‘freezing out’ Angela Rayner

As reported by The Telegraph, Angela Rayner's allies are concerned that she is being ‘frozen out’ by Sir Keir Starmer. Rayner is the Deputy Prime Minister, meaning she cannot be fired, after being elected in 2020.

According to reports, Rayner is the ‘biggest potential threat’ to Starmer’s authority, which is why allies believe she is being pushed to the side. Some examples of Rayner being put to the side that are being brought up are:

Angela Rayner had been the leader of Labour’s flagship policies, the new deal for working people, which, as per The Telegraph, promises to increase wages and give workers more rights. However, this policy has now been given to Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, who will likely ‘do what is best for business’ instead of the unions, according to a Labour source.

Insiders also believe that Rachel Reeves will take over the planning brief, which was Angela Rayner’s responsibility, as she made it the centre of attention of her first speech as Chancellor.

A source told The Telegraph:

Angela has been frozen out of everything. She was sitting in the front row of a speech about her own department.

The final point raised is that Rayner’s shadow cabinet was overlooked when Starmer appointed new roles.

Starmer and Rayner's relationship has not always been smooth-sailing, in fact Rayner was previously called the Labour leader's 'biggest internal rival'. Despite the ups and downs of their relationship, Angela Rayner once said that the two do have a 'respectful' relationship.

A look into Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner’s work relationship

In 2022, she compared their relationship to ‘two dogs in a room’. In an interview with Times Radio, Rayner explained that she and the PM have had a ‘reasonably good relationship’ and they ‘don’t clash’, as per Huffington Post.

Rayner adds that she and Starmer have ‘found a way to exist together’ but they aren’t ‘quite best friends’.

It’s like putting two dogs together in a room, they’ll fight for a little bit and then they find a way, then they become best of mates.

So I think we haven’t quite got best of mates yet, but we definitely found a way to exist together and to complement each other.

She reveals that they are ‘respectful’ and ‘understand’ each one’s point of view but they both have different styles, she tends to ‘vent her anger’ on a problem, and Starmer would be ‘different, as reported by Huffington Post.

Read more:

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Sources used:

Express: ‘Angela Rayner's allies fear she is being 'frozen out' weeks after Labour election win’

The Telegraph: ‘Angela Rayner is already being frozen out, allies fear’

The Guardian: ‘Starmer faces backlash over sacking of Angela Rayner after election losses’

Huffington Post: ‘Angela Rayner Says She And Keir Starmer Are Like 'Two Dogs In A Room'