Angela Rayner’s 10-word response to receiving an award from The Spectator is priceless [AUDIO]

On 1 November, Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner won an award from The Spectator. The magazine holds an annual ‘Parliamentarian of the Year Award’ ceremony. Rayner was given the Rising Star award.

And Rayner’s 10-word response was not only priceless, but showed exactly why she was the right recipient of the award.

Rayner’s response

Collecting the award, Rayner stated:

I only came for the free food, so thank you.

And her response was popular:

Best speech at tonight’s (high Tory) Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year awards @AngelaRayner “I only came for the free food, but thanks”.

— Ben Bradshaw (@BenPBradshaw) November 1, 2017

https://twitter.com/stephenkb/status/925850635295166464

You can listen to an excerpt of the speech here:

Refreshing

Rayner is known for her humour and withering responses. But in a world of blustering politicians, it is this forthrightness that makes her stand out. Rayner herself has said:

I’ve always been the girl who can’t sit on her hands. If there’s a pink elephant in the room, I’ll identify it and say it

She has also talked about her commitment to standing up for ordinary people:

I’m in a place achieving things I never dreamed of being able to do. What gives me the confidence to do it is knowing I’m speaking up for my class, the people that I’m there to represent.

And as Shadow Education Secretary, Rayner has consistently held the government to account for its cuts to education, and promoted her vision of a National Education System that would provide opportunities and funding for all.

Shaking up politics

Politicians like Rayner and newly elected Labour MP Laura Pidcock are shaking up parliamentary politics. They are not knocking on the door of the old boys’ club – they are kicking it in. They are showing that politics doesn’t have to be dominated by Etonian men, but women from all backgrounds can and will have a powerful voice.

Rayner is indeed a rising star. We just hope The Spectator put on a good spread for her.

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Featured image via Wikimedia