Angela Rayner, the ex-housing secretary who resigned after she broke the ministerial code over her tax affairs, is widely seen as a potential leadership contender to Sir Keir Starmer. In her first public reaction to Labour’s disastrous performance at the polls, Rayner said the party had been wrong to block Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, from standing as an MP earlier this year.
The Daily Express can exclusively reveal what’s likely to be Rayner’s plan following her shout-out to Burnham. In the Daily Expresso podcast, Express Assistant Editor JJ Anisiobi said he was told by some Lords last week that Rayner is indeed trying to gain backing – but intends not to make it obvious.
He explained: “I’ve been told that Rayner doesn’t want Starmer and co to think that she’s actively out trying to get together backing in a cabinet, but she has very much been out and about trying to get people in place for support so she can get sweeping.
“She’s going to remove most of the cabinet members who are currently there and go in with her own for her new fresh team.”
He added: “There are five, six to seven people that she’s already spoken directly to who are going to be in this new cabinet.
“And the fact that in the speech today, she shouts out Andy Burnham, makes me believe that all of those things are true and that she has a pact with Burnham and when she does move against Starmer, Burnham will be back in.
“I don’t know how they’re gonna do it but Burnham I believe is gonna be back there right next to her.”
In her statement, Rayner did not endorse the Greater Manchester mayor as a leadership candidate, but said it had been a “mistake” for the party to block him from standing at February’s by-election in Gorton and Denton.
Alongside Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Rayner and Burnham are thought to be the main potential challengers to Sir Keir’s leadership.
For a leadership contest to be triggered against the PM, a challenger must be nominated by at least 20% of Labour MPs, which currently translates to 81 MPs.
If the Labour Party leader resigns, a contest to replace them is automatically triggered.