Londoner’s Diary
Angela Rayner is off on her first foreign trip as Deputy Prime Minister this weekend, but unlike Sir Keir Starmer's official visit to Washington DC for the Nato summit, Rayner's excursion has nothing to do with government business. Instead she is flying out to Naples for a friend's wedding. It seems Rayner's new status as a Cabinet minister hasn't dampened her love for a party. Though friends feared that Rayner's top government role might give them trouble at the border, we understand the Italian authorities were relaxed after being pre-briefed about the DPM's weekend getaway. But it could make House of Commons colleagues jealous. The Government has already cut short MPs' summer break to push through legislation after the election. This parliamentary session has been extended by a week, to July 30, and could conceivably cut into August. Might she get a ticking-off for setting a bad example? "Ange is Ange," chuckled a friend who is off to Italy with her. Buon viaggio.
