
Starmer ‘doing the job for Britain', says Rayner
Speaking to ITV's Lorraine programme on Wednesday, Ms Rayner was asked whether the Prime Minister is tired, and responded: 'Even before I was in politics, I said that have you ever seen a prime minister after a year or two in government?
'And people always say to me, do you want to be Prime Minister? Not a chance. It'll age me by 10 years within six months.'
She added: 'It is a very challenging job, and there's been, to be fair for Keir Starmer, there's been a lot going on.
'He's been all around the world trying to repair the relationships in Europe. We've got the trade deals that the previous government wasn't able to do, tackling the things like the tariffs that the President in the US wanted to put onto the UK, which would have damaged our economy again.
'There's a lot going on, and the Prime Minister's been […] here, there and everywhere, doing the job for Britain.'
Polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice has referred to Sir Keir's first year in office as 'the worst start for any newly elected prime minister'.
He told Times Radio that the Prime Minister was 'never especially popular' and that 'the public still don't know what he stands for.'
Asked if she would be interested in being prime minister at some point, Ms Rayner told the ITV programme: 'No'.
She said that she is 'passionate' about issues including workers' rights and council housing.
'I'm very interested in delivering for the people of this country, because … to be elected as an MP from my background was incredible,' she said.
'Having that opportunity to serve my community that have raised me, looked after me, given me opportunities, and I don't forget that. And to be Deputy Prime Minister of this country … it's got to count for something.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


North Wales Chronicle
15 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Starmer and Macron hope for ‘progress' on defence and migration at summit
The two leaders will hold a summit when the French President travels to the UK for a state visit next week, with the two leaders speaking on Saturday ahead of Mr Macron's journey. Issuing a readout of the conversation between the Prime Minister and Mr Macron, a Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir 'looked forward to welcoming the President to the UK next week, with both leaders agreeing that the state visit will provide a historic opportunity to showcase the breadth of the UK-France relationship. 'Turning to the UK-France summit on Thursday, they hoped to make good progress across a wide range of our joint priorities including migration, growth, defence and security.' The two leaders are also due to host a meeting of the coalition of the willing while Mr Macron is in Britain, with the two leaders expected to dial in to speak to other allied nations who are looking to support any future peace deal in Ukraine. There have been extensive talks between the two nations on migration, and the summit comes as the UK has been repeatedly pushing the French authorities to do more to prevent small boats from crossing the Channel. The number of people who have arrived in the UK by small boat passed 20,000 earlier this week. Downing Street welcomed action from French officers on Friday, after reports suggested knives had been used to puncture a boat in waters off the French coast. A Number 10 spokesman said: 'We welcome action from French law enforcement to take action in shallow waters, and what you have seen in recent weeks is a toughening of their approach.' Existing rules have been changed to allow police officers to intervene when dinghies are in the water. Those alterations have not yet come into effect, but reports on Friday suggested tougher action was already being taken.

South Wales Argus
15 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Starmer and Macron hope for ‘progress' on defence and migration at summit
The two leaders will hold a summit when the French President travels to the UK for a state visit next week, with the two leaders speaking on Saturday ahead of Mr Macron's journey. Issuing a readout of the conversation between the Prime Minister and Mr Macron, a Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir 'looked forward to welcoming the President to the UK next week, with both leaders agreeing that the state visit will provide a historic opportunity to showcase the breadth of the UK-France relationship. 'Turning to the UK-France summit on Thursday, they hoped to make good progress across a wide range of our joint priorities including migration, growth, defence and security.' The two leaders are also due to host a meeting of the coalition of the willing while Mr Macron is in Britain, with the two leaders expected to dial in to speak to other allied nations who are looking to support any future peace deal in Ukraine. There have been extensive talks between the two nations on migration, and the summit comes as the UK has been repeatedly pushing the French authorities to do more to prevent small boats from crossing the Channel. The number of people who have arrived in the UK by small boat passed 20,000 earlier this week. Downing Street welcomed action from French officers on Friday, after reports suggested knives had been used to puncture a boat in waters off the French coast. A Number 10 spokesman said: 'We welcome action from French law enforcement to take action in shallow waters, and what you have seen in recent weeks is a toughening of their approach.' Existing rules have been changed to allow police officers to intervene when dinghies are in the water. Those alterations have not yet come into effect, but reports on Friday suggested tougher action was already being taken.


South Wales Guardian
16 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Starmer and Macron hope for ‘progress' on defence and migration at summit
The two leaders will hold a summit when the French President travels to the UK for a state visit next week, with the two leaders speaking on Saturday ahead of Mr Macron's journey. Issuing a readout of the conversation between the Prime Minister and Mr Macron, a Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir 'looked forward to welcoming the President to the UK next week, with both leaders agreeing that the state visit will provide a historic opportunity to showcase the breadth of the UK-France relationship. 'Turning to the UK-France summit on Thursday, they hoped to make good progress across a wide range of our joint priorities including migration, growth, defence and security.' The two leaders are also due to host a meeting of the coalition of the willing while Mr Macron is in Britain, with the two leaders expected to dial in to speak to other allied nations who are looking to support any future peace deal in Ukraine. There have been extensive talks between the two nations on migration, and the summit comes as the UK has been repeatedly pushing the French authorities to do more to prevent small boats from crossing the Channel. The number of people who have arrived in the UK by small boat passed 20,000 earlier this week. Downing Street welcomed action from French officers on Friday, after reports suggested knives had been used to puncture a boat in waters off the French coast. A Number 10 spokesman said: 'We welcome action from French law enforcement to take action in shallow waters, and what you have seen in recent weeks is a toughening of their approach.' Existing rules have been changed to allow police officers to intervene when dinghies are in the water. Those alterations have not yet come into effect, but reports on Friday suggested tougher action was already being taken.