Rayner: government ‘cannot just go through the motions in the face of decline’
Angela Rayner has said the very survival of the Labour party is at stake and warned Keir Starmer that he “cannot go through the motions” in the face of declining support,In a speech at campaign group Mainstream’s spring reception, the former deputy prime minister said she believed the government was “running out of time” to show it can deliver the change that the public needs,In what will be seen as a major intervention, Rayner said it was “un-British” to move the goalposts on indefinite leave to remain, putting her at odds with the government’s key immigration proposal of increasing the standard qualifying period for permanent residence from five to 10 years,Rayner said on Tuesday evening in London: “It is down to us to rebuild this nation and this party – the question is are we up for this fight? I know we in this room are,“As a party, and as a movement, we cannot hide, we cannot just go through the motions in the face of decline.
There’s no safe ground and we’re running out of time.“The change that people wanted so desperately needs to be seen, it needs to be felt.And we have to show that it is a Labour government that will deliver it.”Currently, people can apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years, giving the right to live, study and work in the UK permanently.On the planned changes to the immigration system, Rayner said: “We cannot talk about earning a settlement if we keep moving the goalposts.
Because moving the goalposts undermines our sense of fair play.It’s un-British.“Let us be a country that has sustainable economic migration rules, but one that upholds the British values we want all who live here to respect.“Not special treatment.But the stability and a fair pathway forward after the sacrifices many have made to build a lawful life in the UK.
”Rayner also condemned the policies of Reform and the other opposition parties, which she accused of pitting “people against one another for political gain, and who stoke fear through blame”.The MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, who resigned as deputy prime minister and housing secretary last September, said: “Our very flags twisted into symbols of division, not the unity our values embody.This rhetoric isn’t just false – it’s deeply dangerous.“And we know why they want it to be the national conversation.Because when it comes to our economy, they have no answers.
Promises but no plans,Not for change,Not for fairness,“They will agree the system is rigged, but they are on the side of those who rigged it,”Last month, Maryam Eslamdoust, the general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association, called for Rayner to replace Starmer as Labour leader.
Last month the Guardian revealed an unfinished website claiming to launch Rayner’s Labour leadership campaign had been published temporarily in January, prompting further speculation that the former deputy prime minister could be gearing up for a contest to replace Starmer.
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Gatz review – the Great Gatsby performed in eight and a half hours of attentive, immersive joy
A man enters his office in the morning, finds his computer on the fritz and, after a few attempts to turn it on and off again, comes across a copy of F Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. So he starts to read and when his colleagues enter they find themselves taking on the characters, and soon the novel unfolds around us, word by word. The New York theatre company Elevator Repair Service has produced a work that is not quite adaptation – given it doesn’t really adapt the novel at all – but that is utterly transfixing nonetheless.Following a keen interest in non-dramatic texts, the company wanted to see what would happen when a powerful literary work was read and performed in its entirety. The result is both strange and strangely familiar
How to Make a Killing to Wu-Tang Clan: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
Glen Powell indulges in some murder most profitable, and the influential rap collective arrive in the UK complete with a clutch of peerless classicsHow to Make a KillingOut nowLoosely inspired by the much-loved Ealing comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets, here is a dark comedy that sees Glen Powell play an upwardly mobile schemer who isn’t afraid to murder his way to his inheritance. Directed by John Patton Ford (Emily the Criminal).Reminders of HimOut nowMaika Monroe (It Follows) stars as a woman who goes to prison following a car accident in which her boyfriend (Rudy Pankow) is killed. On release, she finds herself drawn to a handsome local bar owner (Tyriq Withers). Romance based on the bestselling Colleen Hoover novel
The Guide #234: Five big questions before the 2026 Oscars
Happy Oscars Eve eve to you all. The film industry’s glitziest night takes place on Sunday, at an ungodly hour for those of us covering it from the other side of the Atlantic. Coffee will be essential for anyone staying up, as will the Guardian’s annual liveblog, covering every last minute of the ceremony as well as its red carpet run-up. Head over to the homepage on Sunday evening for that, plus news and commentary on the night’s events.There’s plenty to read before that too: our annual Oscar hustings, making the case for each of this year’s best picture nominees (I sided with Sentimental Value); an interview with Academy top dog Bill Kramer; a piece on the increasingly toxic discourse around many of this year’s nominees; and Guardian film editor Catherine Shoard’s reader Q&A on this year’s race and the state of film in general
Jimmy Kimmel on Trump being gifted an Olympic medal: ‘Yet another award he didn’t win’
On Thursday night, late-night hosts discussed an odd White House women’s history month event, the fallout of the war on Iran and why Melania Trump is starting to sound an awful lot like her husband.Jimmy Kimmel spent a chunk of his Thursday night monologue on a White House women’s history month fundraiser hosted by Donald Trump. As part of the event, Melania Trump gave an extended introduction to the president.“You know how some couples as they get older start to sound alike?” asked Kimmel. “Well, while introducing her husband, Melania had an awful lot of nice things to say about herself
Seth Meyers on Pete Hegseth: ‘The face of a man war-fighting with his colon’
Late-night hosts dug into the Trump administration’s vague intentions for the war in Iran, the conflict’s oil-price effect and a Maga rally in Kentucky with Jake Paul.On Late Night, Seth Meyers checked in on Donald Trump’s now two-week-old war in Iran. “The president is maybe sort of threatening/teasing that he might put boots on the ground in Iran? But Republicans can’t seem to agree on whether they support that idea, or for how long, or why,” he explained.The confusion comes from the top: Pete Hegseth, the “defense secretary/morning show host/fifth-year senior who just found out that yeah, he’s gonna need to do a sixth year” who made a big deal about turning the defense department into “the department of war” and “refocusing on the core mission: war fighting”.“And before we go any further: was there a problem with the term ‘warfare’?” Meyers wondered
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