The Housing Secretary made a point of defending Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Angela Rayner defends Burnham’s national security comments
Angela Rayner left viewers fuming on Sunday morning (13 September), following her latest appearance on Sky News. Joining Rachel Johnson in the studio, the Labour MP rushed to Andy Burnham‘s defence, following his declaration that national security “cannot come at the expense of social security.”
“I think Andy’s point is that you have to have resilience within your own communities. That’s why he wants to see investment in good jobs; he talks about the 40 years of neo-liberalism, and [how] we own nothing, with privatisation not being able to effect change. That’s been a frustration for people, and that’s his point,” Rayner began.
Reiterating that it’s not an “either/or” situation, the politician highlighted “the record numbers of investment” that Labour are putting into defence.
“So, if I understand you, there is no ambition at all to cut the welfare budget?” Johnson asked.
Angela Rayner defended Andy Burnham during an interview with Rachel Johnson (Image: Sky News)
“No, there is,” Rayner replied, interrupting her. “That will happen, but it’s not an arbitrary slice. For example, Kemi and the Conservatives…” she began to argue, before Johnson promptly cut her off. “We’re speaking about what Labour’s doing,” the Sky News presenter pointed out.
“So, Labour is going to create good jobs and match people up with those good jobs, bringing down the welfare bill,” Rayner explained.
“The Tories have said a £4billion arbitrary slice off housing benefits. That means thousands of people in homes at the moment will be turfed out and will be homeless.
“We are spending record amounts of money on temporary accommodation because we’ve got families living in hotels and B&Bs, in inadequate accommodation. We’re paying through the roof for it, so what we need to do is invest in housing, and that will bring down the benefit bill by building the council houses we desperately need.”
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Following Rayner’s appearance on Sky, viewers took to X in response. “After watching this, I’m pretty confident that Labour’s strategy to improve the economy and get people off benefits is just to say ‘Good Jobs’ over and over again until they magically appear, all while taxing job creators and rewarding those on a life of benefits at the same time. F*****g genius,” wrote one.
“What a stupid comment. Resilience in communities means what against a military threat?” quipped a second. Meanwhile, a third tweeted, “Just listening to this idiot makes my blood boil!” and a fourth added: “It’s completely indefensible. It was a gaffe, and everyone knows it. I guess if you’re trying to defend the indefensible, you send out your toughest and most forensic negotiator, Angela Rayner, to shore up support on the airwaves.”