Wes Streeting today urged Angela Rayner to make a stunning return to Labour’s top team as he told party members: ‘We need her back.’
The Health Secretary was given a standing ovation at Labour’s conference in Liverpool as he showered praise on the recently-resigned deputy prime minister.
‘We want her back,’ Mr. Streeting stated in a speech from the main stage on Tuesday, which was less than a month after Ms. Rayner resigned following a heated tax dispute.
While announcing a £500 million investment for the first-ever ‘fair pay agreement’ for care worker pay, Mr. Streeting applauded Ms. Rayner’s contribution.
‘There’s someone else who’s made a real difference too, who understands the struggle care workers face because she was one,’ the Health Secretary remarked.
‘She brought that experience to the Cabinet table as the care worker who became our country’s deputy prime minister.
‘Angela Rayner, this achievement is yours. Thank you. And we want her back as well.’
Amid rapturous applause and cheers from the audience, Mr Streeting added: ‘We’ll definitely make sure she sees that. We need her back.’
Wes Streeting today urged Angela Rayner to make a stunning return to Labour’s top team as he told party members: ‘We need her back.’
The Health Secretary was given a standing ovation at Labour’s conference in Liverpool as he showered praise on Ms. Rayner, the recently-resigned deputy prime minister.
‘We want her back,’ Mr. Streeting stated in a speech from the main stage on Tuesday, which was less than a month after Ms. Rayner resigned following a heated tax dispute.
Mr Streeting’s address was the second time in three days that mention of Ms Rayner had received a standing ovation from party members in the main conference hall.
It also came after Ms Rayner on Monday broke her silence following her dramatic resignation, as she hinted at a political comeback.
In a social media post Ms Rayner said she was ‘sad’ not to be attending Labour’s conference but vowed to ‘continue fighting for working people’.
‘I’m with you in spirit,’ the Ashton-under-Lyne MP told party members, who have gathered on Merseyside for the annual event this week.
Ms Rayner’s post was in reply to Steve Reed, her replacement as Housing Secretary who paid a fulsome tribute to his predecessor from the conference stage on Sunday.
Mr Reed hailed Ms Rayner as a ‘true working-class hero’ in a speech to delegates, which earned the former deputy PM and ex-Labour deputy leader a standing ovation.
This was despite Ms Rayner’s departure coming after a Whitehall probe found she broke ministerial rules for failing to pay correct stamp duty on an £800,000 flat.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham – who has suggested MPs are privately urging him to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership – has also been among those lavishing praise on Ms Rayner at the party’s conference.
Mr Burnham appeared to have thrust his leadership posturing into reverse last night as he said Sir Keir was the right man to be PM, despite his recent slew of attacks on the premier.
Ms Rayner was forced to resign after a Whitehall probe found she broke ministerial rules for failing to pay correct stamp duty on an £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex
In a social media post on Monday – more than three weeks after her departure – Ms Rayner said she was ‘sad’ not to be attending Labour’s conference in Liverpool
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham appeared to have thrust his leadership posturing into reverse last night as he said Sir Keir Starmer was the right man to be PM
In her post on Twitter/X on Monday, in response to Mr Reed, Ms Rayner wrote: ‘Thank you Steve, and to all the delegates, activists and members who continue to be the lifeblood of this Labour Government.
‘I’m sad not to be alongside you all in Liverpool this year, but I’m with you in spirit – and will continue fighting for working people.’
It was the first time Ms Rayner had posted on the website since she shared a copy of her resignation letter to Sir Keir.
The huge tax row over Ms Rayner’s purchase of a new flat in Hove, East Sussex, appeared to have been forgotten in Liverpool on Sunday when Mr Reed paid tribute to his predecessor.
He told party members he had taken on his ‘dream job’ when he succeeded Ms Rayner as Housing Secretary earlier this month.
But Mr Reed admitted taking over at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) was ‘not under the circumstances’ he would have wanted.
‘When I picked up the phone to the Prime Minister three weeks ago, he offered me my dream job but not under the circumstances I would have wanted,’ he said.
‘So can I begin by thanking my good friend Angela Rayner for all she has done for our party and our Government over so many years – for workers’ rights, for local government, for building council homes.
‘Angela, you are a true working-class hero.’
Mr Reed’s tribute to Ms Rayner was met by applause and cheers in the conference hall, while many delegates also rose to their feet.
Government ministers Ellie Reeves and Matthew Pennycook were among those seen joining in the standing ovation.
Prior to Labour’s conference this week, allies of Ms Rayner suggested she could make a political comeback alongside Mr Burnham, who is dubbed the ‘King of the North’ in Labour circles.
But the Greater Manchester mayor appeared to have made a humiliating retreat from a leadership challenge against Sir Keir on Monday.
He told a conference fringe event that Sir Keir was the right person to be PM, despite him having previously fuelled claims he was poised to rival the premier.
Labour’s official conference guide features a beaming Angela Rayner urging party members to have a ‘brilliant’ time in Liverpool… despite her having quit weeks ago.
In an awkward gaffe, Ms Rayner’s resignation from Government appears to have come too late for a reprint of the glossy 255-page brochure.
On page six of the guide, which lists every conference event, Ms Rayner is referred to as both ‘Deputy Prime Minister’ and ‘Deputy Leader of the Labour Party’.
This is despite her no longer holding either role following her resignation over a tax row earlier this month.
Her departure came after a Whitehall probe found she had breached the ministerial code in relation to her purchase of an £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex.
Ms Rayner, who also quit as housing secretary, made a tearful admission that she failed to pay enough stamp duty on the seaside property.
Yet, with copies of Labour’s conference guide having seemingly been printed before her downfall, Ms Rayner is left taking pride of place in the brochure.
‘It’s wonderful to be back in the great city of Liverpool for annual conference – as our movement gathers together and looks to the future,’ she is quoted as saying.
‘It’s an honour to welcome you as your Deputy Leader and your Deputy Prime Minister.’
There are few copies of the conference guide to be found in Liverpool, amid claims most were withdrawn before anyone arrived due to the references to Ms Rayner.
