Apologies for no posts lately
I have not posted new content for some time as my WordPress site was hacked.
Thanks must go to Lode Engelen for his enormous help in beating the hackers. His own website is http://www.LodeEngelen.be where he posts a great number of high quality photos on Thai social and traditional culture. You can read the text explaining the images in any language you choose. As with my own website, we welcome comments and discussion.
So, let’s discuss today’s hot topic. Not Thai related but we can draw some parallels in the type of democratic government employed in Thailand compared to the UK and other western countries. It’s for the reader to decide the extent to which those in power follow the mandate of the people or govern autocratically by effectively forming an elite which ignores the will of the electorate.
What’s Really Happening with the New Labour Government in the UK.
Some Background on Angela Rayner
Born in 1980 (age 44), Miss Rayner is the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, a northern constituency.
She became pregnant at the age of 16 and left school with no qualifications. To support her child, she became a care worker for Stockport Borough Council, later qualifying with a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in Social Care (level 2).
Rayner then became a trade union representative for Unison, one of the largest unions in the UK. Its 1.3 million members provide public services in both the private and state sectors.
Is Prime Minister Starmer Pushing Angela Rayner Out?
Rayner regards herself, in her own words, as a “soft left” socialist. This is in stark contrast to Starmer, who wants to rid the party of anyone who does not follow his centrist policies. While leader of the Opposition, he made no apologies for getting rid of former leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and Dianne Abbott. In 2021, he sacked Angela Rayner as chair of the Labour Party. So, Starmer has a reputation for ruthlessness in dealing with those who disagree with him.
Although Rayner remains Deputy Leader in today’s government, it’s not a particularly powerful position. It’s not an automatic step to being Prime Minister if Starmer resigned.
At the moment, there is no shadow Deputy Leader on the Conservative benches. This meant that Rayner had to face Kimi Badenoch during question time in the House of Commons. Badenoch is an experienced lawyer with good oratorical skills and asked several detailed questions which Angela Rayner was not able to answer.
Angela’s strength, since her election to Parliament in 2015, has always been to attack the Conservative government for their policy and administration failures. She has accomplished that well. But she does not know how to counter questions which involve detail.
The Media are Scared of Angela Rayner.
The right-wing press and several YouTube channels take every opportunity to bring Rayner down. They accused her of distracting Boris Johnson, the then Prime Minister, by crossing and un-crossing her legs while he was speaking at the dispatch box. That was disingenuous. From where he was standing, her legs were not visible. That did not stop the press from publishing photos taken from a different angle which went viral on social media.
Some Points to Consider.
Starmer brought Rayner in to support him when he made some public gaffes about Palestine having no rights to defend itself against Israeli attacks. Several Labour local councillors resigned from the party. Although they refused to rejoin Labour, Rayner did stop the resignations spreading more widely. Starmer has a reputation of using people when it suits him but leaving them isolated later. Whether his anti-Palestine sentiments are related to his wife being Jewish has often been in question.
Angela Rayner was made a Privy Councillor in February 2020, an honour in the sole gift of the monarch. Although the function of the Privy Council is to advise the monarch, in practice it’s the Cabinet which advises the King. However, the monarch will always take Privy Council advice very seriously. Being sworn of the Privy Council gives the recipient the title of Rt. Hon instead of Hon.
Conclusion.
While being ‘soft left’, Angela Rayner is tough on the rule of law and supportive of strong action by the police. No doubt, that’s because of her own experiences of being abused.
She is also strong on pro-Palestinian human rights, advocating a ceasefire in the Middle East, sanctions on Israel, and firmer action by the United Nations Security Council.
Rayner is popular with the working classes. In the 2024 election, her majority suffered largely because of tactical voting, the UK electorate wanting to get the Conservatives out rather than putting Labour into power.
She retained her seat in all 4 elections since 2015. Here are the relevant figures.
2015, votes 19,366 majority 10,756
2017, votes 24,005 majority 11,295
2019, votes 18,544 majority 4,263
2024, votes 15,575 majority 6,791
