Supporting Boris Johnson, the deputy prime minister hit the Labor vice-president after photos of her appeared in the Sussex countryside during the rail strikes last week. “Where was he when his comrades were in line last Thursday?” Mr Raab asked, adding: “He was at the Glyndebourne music festival drinking champagne.” Mr Raab smiled and turned a blind eye to his opponent in the Commons box as the couple clashed over tax increases and the government’s crackdown on noisy protests. Ms Reiner retaliated, saying Tory ministers spent one night last week “at the banquet table to squeeze in hundreds of thousands of donors”. He also criticized Mr Raab for relaxing “on a lounger” while people were leaving Afghanistan last summer – a mistake that led to his dismissal by the foreign minister. A No. 10 spokesman later denied that Mr. Raab’s criticism was an attack on a working-class woman, such as Mrs. Reiner, who enjoyed champagne and opera. “The prime minister is clear that everyone should be able to enjoy the arts and culture and things like that all over the UK,” he said. With the prime minister away at the NATO summit, Reiner scoffed at his deputy for last week’s catastrophic election crises, which have renewed Tories’ calls for a change at the top. “The government lost two by-elections in one day, the first in three decades. “It is not surprising that the prime minister left the country and let the honorable member carry the box,” he said. “The people of Wakefield and Tiverton held their own vote of no confidence. The prime minister is not just losing the room, he is losing their country. “But instead of showing a little humility, he intends to limp until the 2030s. So, does he think the cabinet will support him for so long?” Mr. Raab outlined Ms. Rayner’s leadership ambitions, saying: “I gently point out to her that we want this prime minister to go on much longer than she wants the Labor leader …”, before she cuts. He argued that the Conservatives still had a “working majority of 75” and that “we are focusing on providing services to the British people”. The deputy prime minister added: “We will protect the public from these damaging rail strikes when we have the scene of the Labor Party vanguards joining the picket queues.” Mr Raab also scoffed at Labor leader Kear Starmer, confirming he had broken the Labor defeatist election manifesto in 2019, saying it meant he had “no plans” after two years as leader. “Tony Blair – he really has some experience of winning the election – says there is a gap in the Labor political offer and he’s having fun.”
