Harman: Starmer should use Rayner more effectively as she is popular with public

Sir Keir Starmer should usage his lawman Angela Rayner much efficaciously due to the fact that she is fashionable with the public, Harriet Harman has said.

Speaking to Sky News political exertion Beth Rigby connected the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harman said the premier curate tin usage his lawman successful 2 ways aft she successfully led the effort down the scenes to save the government's payment bill from being defeated successful the Commons by rebel Labour MPs.

"There's 2 ways helium could respond to the concern astir Angela Rayner," she said.

"One is to consciousness antiaircraft astir it and that is someway undermining his power.

"He's got to find ways to benignant of obstruction her successful oregon to really recognise that she's a large communicator, that she's popular, radical similar her, and really helium needs to propulsion her into his enactment and usage her for what she tin really bring in.

"The mode that Tony Blair utilized John Prescott to really augment his premiership."

Despite the galore U-turns the authorities was forced into implicit the payment bill, it would yet person been worse if a Labour rebellion defeated the measure wholly connected Tuesday.

Instead, it was voted done with a bulk of 75 - inactive not a large effect for a authorities with a moving bulk of 165.

Read more:
The PM faced down his enactment connected payment and lost
Chancellor 'totally up' for occupation successful archetypal comments since tearful PMQs

Tax rises to come

Baroness Harman, who was a curate nether Tony Blair and interim Labour person successful 2015, besides admitted the watered-down payment measure volition mean taxation rises this autumn.

She said: "We are present utterly tipped into that territory which I deliberation is incredibly unfortunate that we've got to beryllium having the statement dominated present betwixt present and the fund astir taxation raising.

"I deliberation that is an highly unfortunate effect of what's happened implicit the past fewer days and who knows wherever we'll be, successful presumption of this alleged headroom, by the clip we get to the autumn? But that's present wherever the communicative is.

"So, the occupation has got overmuch much difficult. But it's a occupation they've got to do."

The archetypal payment measure reforms, including narrowing eligibility for the main disablement benefit, were meant to prevention the authorities £5.5bn but the Institute for Fiscal Studies said the U-turns present mean they volition outgo the taxpayer.

This has prompted questions astir Chancellor Rachel Reeves's occupation security, but Baroness Harman backed Ms Reeves and said she is "the solution to the problem".