OPINION
The Deputy Prime Minister has been exposed for her hypocrisy (Image: SKY NEWS)
“The only vice that cannot be forgiven is hypocrisy”, wrote William Hazlitt. Bang on. The British people will forgive much. But a hypocrite? Never. Yet hypocrisy is exactly what Angela Rayner stands accused of today. Is she holding herself to the high standards she used when aggressively demanding the resignations of her political opponents? And the answer is a resounding no.
Here’s what she said in the Commons about the former Conservative Chair, Nadim Zahawi, who was also accused of dodging tax, and what she saw as the weak response of then prime minister, Rishi Sunak: “So what is the Prime Minister doing about it? Last week he told the house all questions had been answered, and he was told that there were no outstanding issues. Yet now the independent advisor is investigating … Why does the Prime Minister need an advisor that this conduct is unethical. If this isn’t a breach of the ministerial code, surely the code itself is wrong.”
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And who can forget how she loudly demanded that Boris Johnson resign over a piece of cake? Yet she underpaid tax to the tune of ￡40,000. Which is the bigger sin? And this is what she said about former home secretary Prit Patel after bullying allegations: “The Home Secretary is a serial offender with no regard for the ministerial code. It’s time the Prime Minister took away her ‘get out of jail free’ card.”
When her opponents made mistakes, Rayner had zero sympathy. Far from it. She demanded that their jobs, livelihoods and reputation be destroyed. Yet now she expects us to have compassion for her. She even cried on camera yesterday. The gall. The sheer gall.
As for Keir Starmer, this is what he said about Conservative ministers: “Any politician who seeks to avoid the taxes they owe is not fit to be in charge of taxpayers’ money.” Fine. So why is Rayner, a day on from admitting that she didn’t pay the tax she owed, still in office? Why do we need to wait for a report from the ethics adviser, when Rayner about Sunak said that no prime minister should need an adviser to tell him what is and what isn’t ethical?
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There are two grubby reasons. First, Rayner is clinging onto power just like any other politician. For all the talk of integrity, she’s no better than any other. Secondly, Starmer is terrified of sacking her. In fact, I confidently predict he won’t, because he knows that the vast massed ranks of left-wing Labour MPs would never forgive him for undermining their hero. And if he ever dared, she’d throw a load of dirt right back at him. There is no love lost.
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So, it comes down to this: will Rayner fall on her sword given the damage her hypocrisy is doing to this already-shocking Labour government, and given the appalling headlines that will continue to dog her? Or will she grip tightly to the reins of power, the very thing for which she venomously attacked her Conservative opponents?
I reckon she’ll cling on for a little longer, like they all do, then realise that her position is untenable.
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