Rayner says 'now is our moment' as Labour tries to move past donations row
The row over donations hangs over the Labour Conference, ITV News Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen Reports
The Deputy Prime Minister has told the Labour Conference "now is our moment" as the party seeks to move past the donations row that has engulfed the top of the government.
During her speech, Rayner promoted the government’s Employment Rights Bill, which will face Parliament next month, as “historic legislation” that will “make work more secure” and “ensure rights are enforced and trade unions strengthened”.
She also vowed to “rebalance” the tenant-landlord relationship and described working on the Grenfell inquiry as “the most sobering moment” of her career.
The deputy PM ended her speech by outlining further plans for the “devolution revolution” as she pledged to end “northerners being dictated to by Whitehall”.
Her enthusiastic speech saw her declare "now is our moment" as she described her new role in government as a "great honour."
Despite all the cheering from the audience, the government has faced a difficult start to its administration.
The Liverpool gathering was originally expected to be a victory lap for the party after its landslide success at the general election win but is facing numerous fights and a fallout over the recent donation scandal.
Leading union Unite has unveiled a series of billboards calling on the government to reverse cuts to winter fuel allowance payments.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, described the winter fuel payment cut as “cruel”.
Delegates are expected to debate Labour’s economic plans on Monday, with the decision to remove winter fuel payments from 10 million pensioners set to feature.
Unite and the Communication Workers Union have put forward proposals calling for the Winter Fuel allowance policy to be scrapped.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is also seeking to move on from rows about internal strife at No 10 and donors.
Speaking before her speech, Rayner said she understood why people were “frustrated” and “angry” that figures including Sir Keir had received thousands of pounds in gifts.
But she added these had been “a feature of our politics for a very long time”, arguing that donations were necessary because of the expense of running for office, and stressing the importance of transparency.
Ms Rayner has herself been criticised for staying in a flat owned by Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli while on holiday in New York but denied breaking any Commons rules about declaring the gift.
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She has also hit out at reports suggesting strife in Downing Street focused on Sue Gray, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff.
Leaks about Ms Gray’s £170,000 salary while other special advisers have seen their pay held down have contributed to reports of a fractious atmosphere within Number 10 less than three months after coming to power.
But Rayner rejected what she described as a “caricature”, saying the Government was “really focused on making sure we deliver” and that Ms Gray was doing an “exceptional job”.
She added: “It angers me, as someone who has been a trade union rep in the past and who wants to bring workers’ rights, that somehow it’s OK to demonise workers in their workplace through the press and the media.”
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