Inside Politics: Angela Rayner still ‘believes’ in Keir Starmer leadership

Labour’s deputy leader is back onside – but tells her boss that voters don’t know what he stands for, writes Adam Forrest

(PA)

Bennifer is a thing again. Just in case you hadn’t heard. The tabloids are agog over Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck getting back together, after the actor wooed his former wife by “flooding” her with multiple emails during lockdown. Westminster is agog by just how ardently David Cameron attempted to woo his Tory colleagues – flooding them with multiple emails, texts and phone calls. It seems Keir Starmer has been able to woo Angela Rayner and bring her back onside. The Labour deputy says she still “believes” in her boss – though she has some pretty harsh criticism for his electoral appeal.

Inside the bubble

Political commentator Andrew Grice on what to look out for today:

There is no PMQs encounter during Queen’s Speech week. So Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer might find more agreement than usual when the PM makes a statement in the Commons on the easing of Covid restrictions. There will also be an urgent question on the outbreak of violence in Israel and Palestine.

Daily briefing

DOGGED DAVE: So we now know the full scale of David Cameron’s lobbying efforts. The former Tory PM bombarded ministers and officials over a four-month period, telling them it would be “nuts” and “bonkers” to deny Greensill Capital financial support. He lobbied the government a mere 56 times –sending at least 25 texts, 12 WhatsApp messages, 11 calls and eight emails. After initial offers of lunch, Cameron’s pleas for help become increasingly lengthy and desperate. All to no avail. At one stage he even told the Treasury’s top civil servant Tom Scholar: “One last point – then I promise I will stop annoying you.” Dave’s employer Lex Greensill denied being a “fraudster” when quizzed by MPs on the Treasury committee on Tuesday, insisting there had been “no loss to the UK taxpayer” from his company’s collapse. Cameron faces a lengthy grilling from senior MPs on Thursday – going before the Treasury committee at 2.30pm, then the public accounts committee at 5pm.

SAW HIS FACE, STILL A BELIEVER: Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has spoken out on the big rift with her boss, telling the BBC that voters “didn’t know what Keir Starmer stood for”. Rayner admitted she had “robust conversations” with Starmer at the weekend, but still fully believes in his leadership. “100%, because I wouldn’t still be working with him if I didn’t.” Starmer’s woes mounted after his parliamentary private secretary Carolyn Harris suddenly resigned. She was accused by some MPs of making unfounded allegations about Rayner (Harris didn’t comment on the claims as she made her exit). Starmer’s poll ratings are now worse than Jeremy Corbyn’s at the same stage in their leaderships. A YouGov survey found Starmer has a net rating of -48 (his predecessor was on -40 per cent at this point). Quashing rumours he was back inside the fold, Peter Mandelson said he hadn’t even spoken with Starmer since 2018. Even Mandy had a kick at Starmer. He told the New Statesman the party leader had come “badly unstuck” by trying to appeal to both the hard and soft left.

PARTY POLITICS LIKE IT’S 1984: The government’s proposed Electoral Integrity Bill – which will require people to bring ID to polling stations – has been met with outrage. The move sparked fears of US-style “voter suppression,” with civil liberties groups vowing to fight against it. “This is a cynical and ugly attempt to rig the system to disempower the poorest and most marginalised groups,” said Labour’s shadow justice secretary David Lammy – who claimed Boris Johnson “governs like it’s 1984”. Former Tory cabinet minister David Davis described the move as an “illiberal solution for a non-existent problem”. Health secretary Matt Hancock admitted there were only six cases of ballot fraud at the last election. The Queen’s Speech also confirmed Johnson will grab back the power to call a snap general election by scrapping fixed five-year parliamentary terms. It paves the way for the PM to stage an election as early as 2023, if his poll lead and Labour turmoil continues.

BARNEY RUBBLE: Michel Barnier is in danger of ruining his reputation with Britain’s Europhiles, just when he has a book to sell. The EU’s former Brexit negotiator has gone all Nigel Farage, calling for France to suspend all immigration from outside the EU for up to five years. Barnier – thought to be considering a tilt at the French presidency for the centre-right Republicans – said France should push the bloc to toughen its external frontier. He said it had become a “sieve” vulnerable to “terrorist networks”. Farage was flabbergasted. But the former Brexit Party boss composed himself and had a pop at his old enemy. “My agenda looks moderate compared to the new Barnier.” Meanwhile, Barnier courted French fishermen and Britain-phobes. He claimed the UK had behaved like “buccaneers” during the access dispute in Jersey. “I think that the people of Jersey should be very careful as well because they depend on the [EU] not just for electricity but for business activity and VAT.”

THICK BLUE LINE: Priti Patel will be extremely pleased with the results of the police and crime commissioner elections, now all the contests are done. The Tories won 70 per cent of elected PCC posts, making 11 gains. Experts said the “blue tsunami” would mean little resistance to the home secretary’s agenda. Patel is said to be ready to bring in new league tables to rank police forces based on serious crime reduction. The PPC election results “will undoubtedly increase the Tories’ dominance over law and order policy,” consultant Danny Shaw told The Times. Elsewhere, former Commons’ speaker John Bercow revealed he voted Labour at last week’s elections. The ex-Tory MP confirmed he opted for Sadiq Khan in London. “I have gone from being a rabid rightist to being a soft leftist,” he told GMB. Bercow also ingratiated himself with Tory haters by calling Boris Johnson a “liar,” before reeling off a few examples of the PM’s best-known porkies.

IS THAT ALL THERE IS? There was plenty of disappointment at the rather timid Queen’s Speech on Tuesday. Boris Johnson promised that an inquiry into his government’s handling of the Covid crisis will be held in the current parliamentary session. The probe could be while yet, however – a session is typically a year, but can last two. Social care charities were angered at the absence in the Queen’s Speech of any legislation to reform funding in the sector. Two years since Johnson promised he had “a clear plan,” the government promised only to bring forward proposals at some point in the next year. The Alzheimer’s Society said that “vague promises are no longer enough”. Former PM Theresa May led Tory anger over housebuilding plans, claiming the government’s Planning Bill would put the “wrong homes in the wrong places”. And Johnny Mercer, the minister who recently quit over the failure to protect NI veterans from legal action, voiced his frustration. “At some stage, we must fulfil our promises to our veterans.”

On the record

“It will disproportionately impact ethnic minorities and it will weaken our democracy. Labour will have no part in that.”

Keir Starmer slams Boris Johnson’s voter ID plans.

From the Twitterati

“‘If I am ever asked to produce an ID Card... I will take that card out of my wallet and physically eat it’ – Boris Johnson, 2014.”

Labour’s Bell Ribeiro-Addy remembers the words of an ID card opponent…

“The Telegraph, who went bananas at the prospect of ‘Covid passports’ will surely have a coronary at the impact on civil liberties inherent in voter ID.”

…while Mike Holden is waiting for the right-wing press campaign to start up.

Essential reading

Jordan Tyldesley, The Independent: If Labour wants to win again, the party must embrace Blairism

Vince Cable, The Independent: Can Boris Johnson avoid being the PM who ‘lost’ Scotland?

Daniel Finkelstein, The Times: Dominic Cummings is wrong to write off the centre ground

Marina Hyde, The Guardian: Johnson the civil libertarian wants to have his voter ID card and eat it

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