Angela Rayner says Starmer should ‘reflect on’ stepping aside after HMRC clears her over tax affairs - UK politics live

The former deputy prime minister said she should be keen to ‘play my part’ in the event of a leadership contest

• Full report: Angela Rayner cleared by HMRC over tax affairs paving the way for potential leadership bid

Good morning. Today it looks as though the phoney Labour leadership contest that has been bubbling away at least since Sunday may finally turn into a real one. Westminster is braced for Wes Streeting, the health secretary, to announce that he is standing – although journalists are not yet 100% certain it will happen.

This morning, in a joint scoop, the Guardian and ITN had news that could affect Streeting’s calculations. As Pippa Crerar reports, Angela Rayner, the former deputy PM, has been has been cleared by HMRC of deliberate wrongdoing or carelessness over her tax affairs.

I’ll play my part in doing everything we possibly can to deliver the change, because it’s not a personal ambition, I know the difference it makes. Whatever role I can play, I will keep pushing and pushing hard because I want the people out there at the moment who are really struggling … to know that I’m putting all my energy into fighting for them.

Continue reading...