Mediaboss Marketing

Angela Rayner grilled on departure of Labour members

Ms Rayner made the rounds on the interview front this morning as she set forward the Labour Party's vision for the future of work. The outfit is calling for workers to be given "full" employment rights from day one, announcing that it plans to "fundamentally change the economy". Supporters claim the party has found a niche in the political market, with workers' rights up and down the country often below par.

Yet, in promoting the move, Ms Rayner was humiliated by Good Morning Britain's Ben Shepard, who argued that the party lacked mass support.

She squirmed under the spotlight, claiming the dramatic exodus following the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn as leader was a routine "fluctuation" in party membership.

Many blame Labour's involvement and adoption of so-called "wokeism", and ease at which it has entered the culture wars as the reason for why former loyal voters have left.

Sir Keir Starmer, Labour's leader, has happily adopted the taking of the knee, a symbol many associate with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, which some view as a maverick political organisation.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rejected taking the knee, later receiving backlash after he refused to condemn the booing of England's football players committing to the action by fans at the European Football Championship.

It is worth noting that BLM rejects its being framed as a political entity, describing itself as a "global organisation in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes".

Ms Rayner has happily waded into the culture wars, pitting herself as a saviour of Britain's working class, often finding herself at the centre of controversy when slanging matches with her Conservative opposites ensue.

Yet, many remain unconvinced by Ms Rayner's words when compared to her actions: only recently it was reported that she claimed 1,440 In taxpayers' cash to pay for a letter folding machine.

Joanna Williams, a leading academic and director of Cieo, a think tank, said Ms Rayner and the Labour Party's current understanding of the country is completely skewed.

JUST IN:Mum hit by 'careering car' as her husband threw daughter out of way

She told Express.co.uk: "If you look at Rayner and Jess Phillips, these are the two women who are being pushed as the voice of the working class and the saviours of the Labour Party.

"I mean, they're gobby northern women - I can be one myself at times.

"But just because you're gobby, and just because you're a northerner doesn't mean that politically you're necessarily in touch with what working class voters want.

"It's actually incredibly patronising to think that, 'Oh, we've got all these voters in the North that we want to win back, what they really need is a gobby northern woman'.

"It's patronising, it's horrible, and it's politically ignorant.

"I think the reason why Boris Johnson is popular and, even, why voters liked Margaret Thatcher, was not because they're gobby or northern or women - obviously Boris is not - but because the ideas that they have appeal to people's sense of aspiration, people's sense of wanting to make a better life for themselves, of wanting a better future for the country."

DON'T MISS

Kebab shop owners batter suspected burglar in 'sickening' attack [REPORT]Ambulance takes 17 hours to get to dementia sufferer [INSIGHT]Brussels backlash after UK councils forced to raise EU flags for cash[ANALYSIS]

Last year, Ms Rayner and Sir Keir hit headlines after they posed for a photograph taking the knee ahead of George Floyd's funeral, the black man who was murdered by white police officer, Derek Chauvin.

Paul Embery, a leading trade unionist and Labour member, told Express.co.uk that the pair likely thought they were "appealing to the masses" in doing so, but completely misread the country.

He said: "Many people among the masses have got a real problem with the knee taking thing.

"Not because they're racist but because they see it as some kind of relentless moral lecture, and they're a bit fed up with it."

Despite this, Ms Rayner earlier this year vowed to reconnect with working class voters after Labour suffered a drubbing up and down the country in May's local, Scottish and mayoral elections - although enjoyed a resurgence in Wales.

She said Labour had talked down to voters for too long.

In an article for The Guardian, she continued: "Politics is not about the language of Parliament or party processes.

"We need to show those who have lost faith what we stand for, that we are on their side and that we will stand up for them."

Yet, two months on, when Sir Keir sat down face-to-face with voters in Blackpool, mediated by the BBC, many claimed not to know who he was or what he stood for.

It is true that he won party leadership during the pandemic and has had little opportunity to get out and about.

Yet, he has been in the job for nearly a year-and-a-half.

Reacting to the lack of recognition, Sir Keir said: "It makes me feel that I should do many more events like this, it makes me utterly frustrated that we've been acting a pandemic, it is extremely unusual for the leader of the Opposition to come into being leader of the Labour Party in a situation where you can't get out and about."

According to Politico's Poll of Polls, the Tories still lead on 41 percent.

Labour has in recent weeks, however, had a boost, with an uptick of two percent since the beginning of July.

But, the UK's next general election isn't scheduled until 2024.

Go here to read the rest:
Angela Rayner rebuffed after wading into culture war: 'Ignorant and patronising!' - Daily Express