In what feels a bit like a season finale, the telenovela of British politics rages on with scandal, international agreements and…kebabs? We’ve been sharing out Telegraph logins like Netflix accounts to get you the latest of who is top, and who is not.
Heart-eye emoji: Angela Rayner MP
For those interested in British politics, it is no secret that the annual British Kebab Awards is the place to be if you want to be hobnobbing with scores of politicians and hacks - and who doesn’t want that!
Whilst journalists were revelling in how jokes from ex Tory chairman Nadhim Zahawi and Lib Dem leader Ed Davey were received with silence – journos begrudgingly admit that Rayner’s reference to wearing disguises on nights out was effortlessly cool, and one of the few politicians to receive a few chuckles.
Continuing her speaking round, she doubled down on Labour being the only “pro-worker” and “pro-business” party at her keynote speech to the CBI, and to top it off she’s announced Labour’s pledge to introduce rights for menopausal people at work.
Rayner’s coverage is a microcosm of the steady drumbeat of activity the Labour party is orchestrating to set themselves up as an effective, credible and, crucially, down to earth government in waiting. In stark contrast to how the Tories are currently faring…
Muted: Rishi Sunak MP
Adding real credibility to Sunak’s leadership style of keeping his head down and getting the job done, his Windsor Framework is a landmark moment.
The 100-page deal addresses issues related to the movement of goods between the European Single Market and the UK under the Northern Ireland Protocol, and it addresses them well. If the deal did not soothe some of the concerns of the existing Northern Ireland Protocol, an even more destabilised Northern Ireland could have been a blow for Sunak’s government.
Whilst it is impressive that Sunak has expertly manoeuvred the double whammy of Northern Irish affairs and Br*xit policy – the average voter will not know or care about the details.
From a PR perspective, Sunak was in an impossible position. By shouting about the deal, he’d have to acknowledge Brexit’s failings and leave himself open for possible friendly fire. The long-term significance of this framework is less with the average voter and more with party management of his own MPs who may start to see Sunak as someone diligently getting on with the job of governing.
We shall soon see when the PM inevitably has to pick a political battle with one of the many groups of anti-Sunak Tory MPs.
No signal: Matt Hancock MP
His desire for public humiliation having not been satisfied by the jungle, a failed book deal or literally any headline about him from the last few years, Hancock gave over his WhatsApp messages to Isabel Oakeshott in exchange for her writing his book, published last year.
Having now been handed the scoop of the year, Oakeshott and a team of journalists analysed the texts (word count equivalent to four War and Peaces) and produced an investigation dubbed “the Lockdown Files”.
The messages expose the eye-watering mismanagement of the covid pandemic, and include such gems as Hancock calling the teaching unions “a bunch of absolute arses” and evidence that Hancock asked George Osborne to put a positive story about Covid Testing on the front page of the Evening Standard.
Why Hancock trusted prominent lockdown-sceptic Oakeshott with such potent ammunition remains to be seen. Perhaps he really is just a glutton for punishment?