Angela Rayner tries to copy Zack Polanski but fails immediately

Labour’s Angela Rayner seems to be preparing for a leadership race once Keir Starmer’s gone and she apparently thinks she can emulate Green Party leader Zack Polanski’s successes. But if she really wanted to convince left-wingers to stop leaving Labour, she really shouldn’t have prioritised a chat with far-right racist Michael Gove.

As political editor at the Times, Steven Swinford, explained:

Angela Rayner is preparing to launch a podcast called Beyond the Bubble as she seeks to broaden her appeal before a potential Labour leadership contest.

The former deputy prime minister has interviewed Lord [Michael] Gove, the former Tory cabinet minister, as the star guest on the pilot, which is focused on housing.

The two apparently “get on well”, Swinford said.

Rayner: "I need to replicate the success that Zack has seen creating and contributing to the left wing media ecosphere, reaching out to voters rather than the establishment."

also Rayner: "My first guest will be Michael Gove." https://t.co/0AMfz0IwRX

— Gareth Dennis (@GarethDennis) March 27, 2026

Gove is editor at the Spectator and a proud Zionist, who has repeatedly denied Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. He’s said that Israeli influence in Britain should grow even further, despite the significant influence the pro-Israel lobby wields over UK politics.

This guy? https://t.co/XRYwoJ2oWb pic.twitter.com/IC3KM0vG3O

— Barry Malone (@malonebarry) March 26, 2026

The Spectator has long been a dishonest, racist, far-right rag and has openly normalised hate.

In particular, the hateful, divisive magazine reserves a special disdain for Muslim communities. Indeed, it has been a leading media source for Islamophobic content. And its racist propaganda regularly gives Nazi media a run for its money.

It might seem like a strange choice for Rayner to have Gove as her first guest if she’s trying to get left-wing votes, but it makes complete sense when you consider just how comfortable Rayner is with the political and economic establishment.

Angela Rayner offers more of the same right-wing Labour decay

Labour Together — the shady right-wing group with millionaire backers that helped undermine Jeremy Corbyn and crown Keir Starmer as his successor — knows Starmer’s time is up. It sees Rayner as a potential successor.

The influence of Labour Together in the current Labour government is massive. Rayner is very much a part of its network of influence, so she’s clearly comfortable getting corporate money while pretending in public to be progressive.

Her voting record, meanwhile, shows how happy she is to play along and vote against ordinary people’s interests.

Despite everything Keir Starmer’s government has put the country through since 2024, Rayner has stuck by him and called for party unity, insisting:

The Prime Minister has my full support in leading us to that end.

And despite reality, she repeatedly tried to convince people ahead of the recent Gorton and Denton by-election that “only Labour” could stop Reform. After Labour predictably didn’t beat Reform, she said:

It’s time to really listen – and to reflect.

She just didn’t say how she was going to reflect and who she was going to listen to: one of the most influential hate-mongers in the UK.

That is unfortunately completely typical for the right-wing forces dominating Labour today and it should serve as a clear reminder that Rayner just offers more of the same.

Featured image via Getty Images/ Christopher Furlong