'I want Angela back': Starmer says ousted deputy PM has 'future role to play' despite stamp duty scandal
Angela Rayner resigned in September after it emerged she did not pay enough stamp duty on an £800,000 flat in Hove.
Sir Keir Starmer has suggested former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has a “future role to play” in government.
Listen to this article
Ms Rayner resigned in September after it emerged she did not pay enough stamp duty on an £800,000 flat in Hove.
Labour’s former deputy leader remains a popular figure within the party and Sir Keir said he wanted to bring her back to the front line “at the right point”.
Ms Rayner, the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester, is viewed as a potential successor to Sir Keir or, if she did not run herself, as someone whose support could have a significant influence on the outcome of any contest.
“I would like to have Angela back at the right point. I’ve always been clear she has a future role to play," the prime minister said.
Read more: Rayner hints at run to become PM as Starmer's ousted deputy insists 'I'm not dead yet'
“She played a huge part in the achievement that we got at the last election; getting elected, we’ve just passed the Employment Rights Act, which has got her fingerprints all over it,” he added.
It comes amid reports the former deputy leader allegedly built a “war chest” of more than £1m as part of a leadership plot to replace Sir Keir.
Ms Rayner has reportedly begun offering Cabinet roles to her supporters alongside the fundraising drive, telling her backers at a recent fundraising dinner that she’s “not dead yet”, according to the Telegraph.
Her allies claim “she has received more than a million [pounds] in firm pledges and is ready to go”, the Mail on Sunday reports.
She also trained her sights on the Labour leader, insisting his leadership "should do better" amid rock-bottom polling and widespread disaffection among backbenchers.
It comes as Sir Keir faces sustained pressure from within his own party amid the fallout from the decision to block Manchester mayor Andy Burnham from standing in an upcoming by-election.
Ms Rayner joined Labour candidate Angeliki Stogia as canvassing began ahead of the Gorton & Denton by-election on February 26.
Shadow Home Secretary Chis Philp told LBC that the nation needs a "strong leader with backbone" as he criticised Sir Keir on LBC.
Speaking on Sunday with Lewis Goodall, the Tory MP insisted that the UK needs "a strong leader with backbone, rather than a weak leader like Starmer".