Rayner’s war chest is wound up

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.