Angela Rayner has identified Chancellor Rachel Reeves as a “weakness” in the Labour Government, according to political commentator Oscar Reddrop.
The Deputy Prime Minister is embroiled in a leaked memo row after it was revealed she called on Reeves to increase taxes prior to this year’s Spring Statement.
The memo - seen by the Daily Telegraph - appeared to call on Reeves to hike taxes by £3bn to £4bn a year through various measures.
According to Reddrop, Rayner is positioning herself as an alternative for the Labour leadership as Prime Minister Keir Starmer continues to flounder in the polls.
Oscar Reddrop waded in on Labour's divisions
PA / GB NEWS
“The political intrigue is Angela Rayner declaring open warfare on the Number 10, Number 11 orthodoxy”, he said on GB News.
“Not only is she showing the Labour left there is another way, she is also honing in on the political capital drain on Number 10 which is Rachel Reeves in Number 11.”
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Asked if she is pitching for the top job, he said: “100 per cent. She is identifying that Rachel Reeves is a real weakness for this Government.
“The Number 10 and Number 11 relationship when times are tough can get really fraught.
“I think Keir Starmer will be banging his desk in frustration at the trouble Rachel Reeves is causing this Government.
“What Rayner is doing is politically smart.”
Labour's struggles were discussed on GB News
GB NEWS
The Reeves and Rayner rift marks the most significant division within Labour’s senior Cabinet since the party came to power in July last year.
The leaked memo suggested several specific tax measures targeting the wealthy. These included ending inheritance tax relief for AIM shares, increasing taxes on dividends, and reinstating the pensions lifetime allowance.
The pensions lifetime allowance, which was abolished under the previous Conservative government, had limited how much savers could put in their pension pot before facing higher tax charges.
Other proposals included closing the commercial property stamp duty loophole and implementing a higher corporation tax rate for banks.
Chancellor Rachel ReevesPA
In total, the document estimated that eight proposed changes could raise between £3bn and £4bn annually. However, these proposals were not adopted by the Chancellor in her Spring Statement.
Rayner's tax proposals come as the government faces intense anger from Labour MPs over £5bn in cuts to sickness and disability benefits announced in March.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall is expected to defend these controversial reforms in a speech today at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), despite a looming rebellion.
Over 100 Labour MPs have reportedly written to the Chief Whip indicating they cannot support the government on this issue, raising fears that Prime Minister Keir Starmer could face his biggest Commons revolt yet.
Some left-wing MPs have urged the Prime Minister to introduce a wealth tax on the assets of the country's super-rich as an alternative to disability benefit cuts.
Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride criticised the leaked proposals, claiming they showed "we are still living with the Labour Party of Jeremy Corbyn."
"At the very highest level, Labour ministers are debating which taxes to increase next," he added. "The Chancellor has repeatedly refused to rule out another tax raid in the autumn, and now we know why - Labour's top brass, including the Deputy Prime Minister, want to come back for more."
Rayner, who rose to prominence as a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn following an exodus of moderate Labour figures in 2016, has had previous tensions with Starmer, including her removal as Labour Party chair in 2021.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed responded to the reports, telling the BBC: "You wouldn't expect me to comment on leaks and speculation. But I know from being in the Cabinet when discussions happen, the Cabinet is united behind the government's Plan for Change."
Reed added that the government has already increased taxes on the wealthy, noting: "We have brought non-doms - those are those foreign billions who live in our country, who were paying no tax previously, now they are liable to paying their taxes like everyone else."
