Angela Rayner has branded Nigel Farage as 'same old Thatcher', accusing the Reform leader of pushing policies that will leave workers worse off. The former Deputy Prime Minister rubbished the party's recent attempts to woo trade unions, telling The Mirror: 'They need to start looking after the workers first.'
Rayner's Warning on Farage's Agenda
Mr Farage's party wants to axe Labour's workers' rights reforms, which Ms Rayner spearheaded. These reforms guarantee significant boosts to sick pay and parental leave, as well as protections from insecure work and fire and rehire. 'I just see Farage as same old Thatcher,' she said. 'Vested interests, privatisation, insecure work, standing up for vested interests as opposed to standing up for the ordinary working class people of this country. They've proven that.'
The former Deputy PM added: 'I worry about what that would mean to people who already feel that politics isn't working for them, what that would mean if they were ever in power.'
Reform's Record Under Fire
Ms Rayner argued that Reform is not committed to bringing back industry into the UK, ensuring that work pays for people, or delivering the housing that people need. In a warning to voters, she said: 'We saw what Thatcherism did to this country, and to working class people, to the industries, it gutted it out. We saw what the previous Conservatives did when they cut back the public sector.'
'If we have more of that, it is not going to help rebuild our country, it's going to damage our country. I think being clear on that, and then delivering ourselves is how we tackle the populism that we face.' She added: 'It's easy to make a sweeping statement: get Brexit done, leave the EU. Nigel Farage said that. Has it made people better off? I'll leave that one to your readers.'
By-Election Candidate Controversy
Ms Rayner also gave short shrift to Reform's by-election candidate Robert Kenyon, who has refused to apologise for a string of offensive social media posts. The now-deleted posts included comments on vile remarks about Carol Vorderman and a suggestion women can't 'ref, drive or give directions'.
She said: 'I accept that sometimes people change their opinions or they've said something that was in jest. But the fact that he's doubling down tells you what sort of person he is now, as a candidate. I don't want a representative who thinks it's okay to make sexist, misogynistic jokes and then double down on them. That, I think, is a big mistake.'
