There was a telling moment at last week’s PMQs. After Keir Starmer declared that Plaid Cymru leader Liz Saville Roberts was talking “rubbish” – she asked if there was any belief that he held for more than a week – Rachel Reeves roared with laughter. But Angela Rayner, sat by her side, remained impassive.
To observers in Labour, this was evidence of the shifting power dynamics inside the cabinet. Reeves is an unpopular Chancellor who serves at Starmer’s pleasure (MPs routinely ask whether she could be replaced before the next election). Rayner, by contrast, is Labour’s elected deputy leader – and the frontrunner to succeed Starmer.
