Why some Labour MPs think Angela Rayner could be their Liz Truss
HEThe Labor MP summed it up when they texted to unveil the “Anyone But Anger” campaign, which has gained traction within the parliamentary party.
“I really worry that Angela will become our Liz Truss,” they said.
The analogy comes from Ms Truss’s disastrous 49-day premiership, which collapsed like a pack of cards after the disastrous mini-Budget.
The statement sums up what another MP described as an “existential moment” for Labor at a time when some are scrambling to stop Angela Rayner taking over from Keir Starmer.
But is the fear really justified?
As Ms Truss tries to rebuild her reputation and claim that she was the victim of some kind of coup, the fatal discredit she has inflicted on the Conservative Party is visible to all.
The market runaway has destroyed the Conservative Party’s image as the party of good finance. It has driven up mortgage costs and remains the crux of Labour’s attack on them. This led them to the worst defeat in the party’s more than 300-year history. Despite her best efforts and Labour’s woes, Kemi Badenoch is still struggling to overcome the Truss legacy.
So why do some in the Labor Party think Ms Rayner will be their version of Truss?
The problem with Ms. Rayner, like Ms. Truss, is that it is an ideological choice rather than a pragmatic one.
While Ms. Truss is primarily the candidate of tax cuts, regardless of other factors, Ms. Rayner is the chosen soft-left candidate.
He may be the answer to combating the drain of support for the Green Party on the left, and he certainly has the charisma to defeat the party’s leader, Zack Polanski.
But he represents a shift in policy that will change the nature of the Labor Party and essentially push forward a higher-taxed, larger state version of socialism than we have seen under Sir Keir.
However, the biggest concern on the right wing of the party is that it will scare the markets and lead to capital flight.
We saw an example of this when markets panicked over the possibility of Rachel Reeves being sacked as chancellor. He was seen crying in the House of Commons during PMQs after the Prime Minister failed to guarantee his future.
“There will be a meltdown in the markets,” the “Anyone But Ange” MP said about the possibility of her becoming Prime Minister.
It was the guilt markets that did it for Truss, and if something even worse happens to Rayner – as some fear – then it could be a “curtain” for Labor.
Many of his allies were supporters of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, if not his woolly supporters.
But some say figures such as his partner, former MP Sam Tarry, founder of Hope Not Hate, are symbols of the people who will be around him.
The point is that, like Ms Truss, Ms Rayner will potentially introduce a radical agenda that does not have a general election mandate and can only be established because her first bid for prime minister was rejected.
Much of this is being instigated by those desperate to keep Sir Keir or for Wes Streeting to take over.
While the Truss comparison is overblown, Labor MPs will still be considering whether Ms Rayner is worth the risk.
