Only Rayner's reputation is intact after benefits U-turn

Some Labour MPs are wondering when the prime minister's deputy is going to replace him as leader, writes John Rentoul

- John Rentoul

It is a cliche that Labour is the party of work - “the clue is in the name” - and yet the first time that proposition has been tested in government resulted in a humiliating retreat. Keir Starmer failed to make the case for welfare reform, which meant that it looked as if he and Rachel Reeves, his iron chancellor, just wanted to save money.

After it was presented to Labour backbenchers as a choice between austerity and defending the rights of people with disabilities, there was only going to be one outcome - and it is a measure of the prime minister’s naivety that he didn’t see this until the last moment.

It is significant that it was Angela Rayner, who lives and breathes politics, who led the effort behind the scenes to save the government from being defeated in the Commons. It was she who forced the prime minister to bow to the reality of parliamentary arithmetic.

As reputations shake out in the aftermath of the government’s double climbdown, only the deputy prime minister has gained in stature. Starmer’s standing in the party and the country has been damaged, so much so that some Labour MPs are talking about when Rayner might take over from him.

Reeves’s share price has also fallen — so much so that, when she appeared upset about what her spokesperson said was a “personal matter” at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, speculation that she had resigned or was about to resign rocked the bond markets.