Angela Raynor

[Pixxie7]

I think her comments today were spot on, although not really professional she makes a valid point.

When Sir Keir Starmer became the leader of the Labour Party, I thought that there was a chance that Labour could present a viable opposition. He appeared to be well educated, capable of presenting an argument and presentable (I know that should not matter, but given the influence of visual media, it does).

However, Sir Keir does not seem to have articulated anything, certainly not the points that Labour should have been passionate about: the (potentially) preventable deaths of thousands of elderly and disabled people in the pandemic; a failure to commit to or facilitate training programmes that would have led to a more skilled workforce when the free movement of EU workers stopped; a true rise for care workers, rather than a vague promise of something in three years or so, and a real improvement to poor or uninhabitable social housing. As for 'levelling up' and so on, I think we all recognise that as a myth.

Angela Rayner is trying to find a voice. Yet, she is not presenting any arguments. She is not making any points. Most people know what Boris is, what we want to know (perhaps) is what the Labour Party is.

She's on the front of papers today, snapped smoking a cigarette, being made to look 'common' or whatever.

Many people smoke. How many Tories smoke? But somehow she's bad for smoking a cigarette outside like millions of other people do?
Seems biased to me.

@Laquila

Interestingly it's just struck me that the words used to describe her on this thread (at least the ones that have jumped out at me) are rarely used about men, are they? Loudmouth, uncouth, potty-mouthed, bolshy etc.

I called her an arrogant windbag. Neil Kinnock was described as a Welsh windbag, so no sexism there. And arrogant is used to describe lots of people, not just women.

Labour voters probably think she's doing a great job and is above reproach because she's a woman and Boris has said worse. Sad to say that's not how it works - you don't win back lost voters by slagging off the ruling party and that's all Labour have done. Name calling, misleading voters about Tory policies, student level politics which lack critical thinking.

They'll never be back in power because they can't get their bloody act together. If they had a sensible, strong leader with the courage of their convictions, a professional cabinet and a solid set of policies which appeal to the masses then they'd be a shoo in. But they won't and so people will continue to vote Tory because at least they deliver what they say they will, even though MNetters don't like it.

And the idea that Labour wouldn't be handing out contracts to cronies if they could is laughable

@Lightswitch123

Bottom line is she has resoundingly proven she is not fit for a major political stage.

If you insist on focusing on her being a woman as the problem (which is NOT the issue- its her conduct not her sex). But if you do want to make being female the debate- compare her for a moment to the equivalent females abroad or at home- Merkel, Ahern, Clinton, May etc... Can you imagine any of them making a patronising gutter fuelled hate speech like that?

They just wouldn't. There are better more skillful and more powerful ways to express yourself.

Raynor is just not in the same league and her latest ranting has unequivocally cemented that in the public eye.

The fact she also lacks insight into the sale of her misstep is just mind-boggling.

Clinton, yes. She has form for being unpleasant about people she disagrees with.

Merkel and Ardem have been pretty good about not name-calling and insulting the opposition (as far as I can remember).

I can't imagine Swedish, Finnish, Danish, Icelandic etc female politicians showing the lack of control that Rayner has.

If she were my daughter, I would be thoroughly ashamed of her, particularly with her foul mouthed outbursts.

If she were my daughter, I'd be proud of how far she'd come. She's a work in progress. I'm less impressed with the smoking more than anything else.

Cactus, haha, you're funny

One the best MPs the Conservative party could ever have!

Does she support Rosie though?

I think she is outspoken usually. However she has crossed a line here, whatever she thinks about boris needs to kept civil at the least. Just mouthing off like this paints her in a bad light .that idiot at work in charge of accounts doesn't get the opposite manager from computers say telling everyone he's a bloody prat! Just looks unprofessional to me

Boris is a scumbag and so are most of his cronies, however I don't really want that kind of rabble rousing language from the only major opposition we have in this country, we need to win people over and win elections, not start a bloody revolution. It just looks a bit embarrassing and pathetic to me. There is so much the Labour Party could be addressing at this time in an articulate way, not random namecalling better placed in the student union.

God we're going to have a Tory government forever aren't we.

Are we allowed to talk about how she’s been having an affair with a married MP?

No @Cactus1982 we should all be applauding her achievements instead apparently 🙄

@Cactus1982

The fact she was a grandmother at 37 tells you all you need to know. Common as muck.

You’re saying this because she speaks with a regional accent and comes from a WC background.

I could say the same about BJ. He doesn’t even know how many children he has and had ‘at least 6’ to 3 different women. He cheated on his wife numerous times when she had cancer. Common as muck.

@Cactus1982

Are we allowed to talk about how she’s been having an affair with a married MP?

I thought the aide who spread this rumour was fired because it is just a baseless rumour.

@Cactus1982

Are we allowed to talk about how she’s been having an affair with a married MP?

If you can prove it.

Hancock and his lover had affairs and got caught bang to rights. Unless you want to spread baseless accusations without proof?

But seeing as the leader of the Tory party is who he is and has his past, you'd need to criticise him first.

@TooBigForMyBoots

If she'd kept her mouth shut , or, better still, expressed it in a more civised way, she wouldn't BE the story that deflects from the current snafu.

Yes, if only she had been silent/nicer.🙄 That's not misogynistic at all.🤔

Nice selective quoting there. She has become the story so it lets the government off the hook. Again.

If she'd actually done her job and talked in a professional way this would be the case. Had she stayed in bed all day the Labour party would be better off.

WouldNT be the case.

Oh for an edit button.

She is not wrong and sometimes truth should shine out loud

I can't take anything she says seriously since I heard her unable to correctly pronounce the word 'Secretary' during deputy PMQs last week

Outbursts like that do her no favours at all, nor the rest of the Labour Party.

@TatoAndBeans

Gobby, unprofessional and a caricature of what middle-class people think appeals to working-class voters. She wears her “Look at me, I had a kid at 16 and haven’t got a single GCSE” line as a badge of honour, proof of how “relatable” she is; and the middle-class likes of Corbyn lap it up because they see it as exotic like in Pulp’s “Common People”.

Having grown up in a caravan, then in foster care, I worked incredibly hard to better my life. I kept my head down. I’m so aware of how grim my upbringing was, how my own mum had kids at 17. The last thing I want is that for my own daughter. So I find it incredibly patronising when the Owen-Jones-fanclub assumes that voters like me love Angela Rayner. People like her don’t make the lives of working-class people easier; they make it harder and just paint a bloody great “thick poor person” target on us.

I don’t agree with all of his policies (GRC, Brexit flip-flopping etc), but I identify with Keir Starmer far more. At least he’s a positive role model and has achieved something. At least if he had to meet foreign dignitaries, no matter how personally unpalatable, he’s be able to be professional. Can you seriously imagine Angela Raynor meeting with Merkel to discuss trade? She’s so ideologically wedded to slagging off the Tories, for being Tories, that she’d almost certainly oppose even any reasonable legislation. I’m no fan of the Tories, but there are times when you have to work with people you don’t like or don’t agree with. She’s shown herself to be completely incapable of that.

Great post

Nice selective quoting there. She has become the story so it lets the government off the hook. Again.
The story is whatever get clicks. Many times it is "Look at the ghastly woman who isn't being nice". This is no different. Empty shelves, rocketing fuel costs, queues at petrol stations because the government are fuckwits. But don't look at that, an uncouth, common woman has called BJ "scum".🙄

If she'd actually done her job and talked in a professional way this would be the case. Had she stayed in bed all day the Labour party would be better off.
Bollocks, they would have found something else she said "unprofessional" or they would have ignored her altogether. No one will stand in the cubicle in the next election, ready to vote labour but changing their mind because AR called BJ scum.