Prime minister has a track record of firing errant ministers – but will her power within the party protect his beleaguered deputy?
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Keir Starmer has a hard-won reputation for ruthlessness when it comes to dispensing with ministers who cause the government embarrassment. But the future of his deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, is the toughest call of its kind.
Every time Starmer has been confronted with this kind of decision since the very early days of his leadership, his instinct has been to cut loose.
But his praise for Rayner was extravagant at prime minister’s questions and sympathetic about her family circumstances that led to the error on stamp duty. Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, has refused to join the chorus calling for her resignation.
