What I saw during Angela Rayner's farcical visit to Scotland

The National

4 days ago

Welcome to this week's Branch Office Updates. It's Xander Elliards here stepping in for James Walker this week.
KARL Marx's famous maxim states that history repeats, first as tragedy, second as farce. In the case of Angela Rayner's recent visits to Scotland, it's been farce both times.
Thursday's not-at-all-publicised visit north of the Border was a case in point.
At first, Labour had ungraciously informed the Scottish media that they would have precisely no access to the Deputy Prime Minister. That would have heralded a repeat of her visit to Govan in January, where no media were allowed to speak to the top Labour MP.
That had been reflected by Lisa Nandy's visit to Scotland in March, during which she also spoke to no Scottish media.
But as pressure from all quarters grew, Labour were forced into a minor concession, one on which they have leant before and no doubt will again.
READ MORE: How is Labour's Hamilton by-election campaign so bad?
Rayner would now speak to a select few members of the broadcast media, we were told. PA – the news wire which shares its writing with other outlets – would also be allowed to ask just two questions.
However, Scottish newspapers would not be allowed anywhere near the Deputy Prime Minister (except, it later transpired, the Labour-friendly Daily Record ... who just backed the SNP in the by-election. Awkward ...)
Labour would then be able to deny allegations that Rayner had not spoken to any Scottish media, and deny allegations that she had not spoken to any Scottish newspapers. As The National reported just weeks ago, that was exactly what Chancellor Rachel Reeves did during her own visit north of the Border.
Rachel Reeves refused to speak to any Scottish newspapers during her visit to a whisky distillery in May (Image: Andrew Milligan) Unhappy with yet another snub to the Scottish media – despite what Labour may call it – The National decided to turn up at the party's Hamilton by-election campaign office and ask Rayner some questions anyway.
When I arrived in Hamilton at 1pm on Thursday – a little ahead of time – it was quickly apparent that we were far from the only people with the idea of 'doorstepping' the Deputy Prime Minister.
The Labour campaign office was essentially besieged by pro-Palestine protesters, who I'm told had learned of the visit early that morning and pulled together a last-minute demonstration.
'Resisting genocide is human' is written on the ground in front of Labour activists, who had been asked to make a wall between Labour's campaign office and the pro-Palestine protest (Image: NQ) Chants of 'Rayner, Rayner you can't hide, you're supporting genocide' were echoing up the streets of the Scottish town.
As it turns out, however, Rayner very much can hide. And that's just what she did.
In what can only be described as a humiliation for the Labour deputy, she was reduced to scarpering away and answering the few questions she had agreed to from the lawn of a private residence in a small village outside Hamilton.
It seemed that, with the campaign office surrounded by Palestine protesters deemed too embarrassing for Rayner, Labour's 'backroom boys' (as former shadow chancellor John McDonnell called them) were unable to find anywhere else willing to host her – at such short notice anyway.
Rayner was then forced to utter half-hearted claims that she hadn't run away from pro-Palestine protesters literally miles away from the pro-Palestine protesters she ran away from.
For posterity's sake: the Deputy First Minister spoke to PA – who Labour had decided would question Rayner in place of all of Scotland's print media (bar the Record) – for less than one minute. The National was then allowed two questions, which lasted slightly longer but saw Rayner say the same amount of nothing.
The continuing message is clear: UK Labour have simply no time – and no respect – for Scotland's print media.