Labour suspends aide but press hears about it first as Starmer’s war with Rayner continues
Keir Starmer’s war with Angela Rayner has escalated with the suspension by Labour of Rayner’s speechwriter Jack McKenna over an alleged data leak involving briefing the press.
Since Starmer’s Labour is incapable of doing anything without turning it into a nasty farce, it briefed the news of McKenna’s suspension to the press before McKenna himself was even aware.
Starmer’s impotence – he is unable to sack Rayner because she was elected by members at the same time as he was, while an attempt to scapegoat her for Labour’s electoral disasters became yet another farce that ended with him not only keeping but, effectively promoting her by extending her brief, has turned into a vendetta. Like many weak men he is attempting to portray strength by punching down vindictively, seemingly thinking this will make him look hard and in charge.
Wrong.
It’s unknown how Rayner has responded to the removal of a key aide. However, she appears to have done little to stand up for her friend and former flatmate Rebecca Long-Bailey was sacked by Starmer as Shadow Education Secretary, under a pretext that she shared an entirely accurate article but in fact because she wouldn’t bow to his wish to side with the Tories – as revealed exclusively by Skwawkbox – in their criminal mishandling of the pandemic in schools.
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