Cast your minds back sixteen months ago. Back then, Boris Johnson was in his pomp, having narrowly missed out on winning the Batley by-election. The vaccine roll-out was underway, with the UK leading the world out of Covid. And in the Labour party, there was much excited talk of a challenge by Angela Rayner to Keir Starmer’s flatlining leadership. How the picture has changed, one year on. Labour is twenty points ahead in the polls, with Johnson (temporarily?) consigned to the history books. Now Starmer reigns supreme in his party, with the Tories in disarray. And rather than mount a challenge, Rayner’s allies have now moved to wind up her eponymous war chest.
Back in early 2020, Rayner amassed donations of £185,000 from supporters for her successful campaign to be Labour deputy leader. They included £60,000 from three trade unions and £50,000 from media entrepreneur and Labour peer Waheed Alli, with the money being channelled into a company called Angela Rayner Ltd. Her chief of staff Nick Parrott is listed as sole director. But last week the company filed an application to be struck off the Companies House register, with a First Gazette notice for voluntary strike-off being dated for tomorrow. It comes just days after Rayner’s trusted spinner Jack McKenna left his post as the deputy leader’s head of communications.
Down to just four aides, perhaps Rayner can now focus on her ever-growing collection of titles instead, as MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, deputy leader of the Labour party, shadow minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, shadow secretary of state for the Future of Work and Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition.
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