Sir Keir Starmer has said he expects Angela Rayner to play a “leading role in this Labour Government” despite his former deputy’s criticism over the direction of the party.
The Prime Minister insisted the ex-Cabinet minister had “a lot to offer” and expressed regret about her resignation last year after a row over her underpayment of stamp duty on a new property.
In a high-profile intervention seen by some as a thinly veiled leadership pitch, Ms Rayner last week attacked the Government’s immigration reforms as “un-British” and said it was “running out of time” to deliver.
Asked whether the race was on to replace him in No 10, Sir Keir told Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast: “Look, let me say about Angela to start with, she was a fantastic deputy Prime Minister.
“I was very proud of the fact that Angela had come from a really challenging start in life, to then be deputy Prime Minister.
“She’s got a lot to offer, and I obviously had a conversation with her on the day that she had to resign, and I regret that she had to resign. It was the right thing to do, but I regret that she had to do it.
“And I said to her, that her contribution to the Labour government and the Labour movement was by no means over. And so I do expect to see her playing a leading role in this Labour government.”
Ms Rayner is widely seen as a potential successor to the Prime Minister amid rumblings of a potential leadership challenge after the May 7 elections as Labour’s poll ratings and his personal approval flounder.
Sir Keir sought to manage expectations ahead of the local polls this spring, describing them as “very much sort of mid-term elections” of the kind that incumbent governments historically “pretty well lose”.
But asked whether he was “going anywhere,” he said: “No. I intend to be judged at the next election on what I’ve delivered for the country.”
In a speech last week, Ms Rayner had appeared to highlight a particular concern over Government proposals to double the time it will take to qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from five to 10 years and its implications for people already in the UK.
Ministers have said debates are welcome in the Labour Party and Downing Street has said the plans are being consulted on, with a Government response to be set out in “due course.”
