‘Rayner for leader’ website briefly went live as Starmer’s odds on leaving suspended

A website promoting Angela Rayner for Labour leader briefly appeared online in January and was dismissed as ‘fake’ by her team amid pressure on Keir Starmer

A website endorsing Angela Rayner’s bid for the Labour leadership was briefly live in January, according to reports. The Guardian revealed that the domain name angelaforleader.co.uk was registered around the same time on 27th January.

Ms Rayner’s team dismissed the accidentally published website as a “fake”, stating she was seeking legal advice due to the unauthorised use of her name and image.

One of Ms Rayner’s supporters went a step further, labelling it as “a crass false flag operation” aimed at undermining her. They added: “Accidentally switching on a site full of pastiche content for 20 minutes? Pull the other one. These sort of by-the-playbook dirty tricks would be laughable if this wasn’t so serious.”

However, this incident is likely to stoke rumours that the former Labour deputy leader is eyeing the top job, especially as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer faces calls to step down over the Peter Mandelson scandal. Ms Rayner, along with Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, has been touted as a potential successor to Sir Keir in Westminster circles.

On Monday, Anas Sarwar, the party’s Scottish leader, became the most senior Labour figure to demand Sir Keir’s resignation, telling a press conference: “The distraction needs to end.”

Yet, Ms Rayner sided with her former Cabinet colleagues in supporting the Prime Minister and cautioned Labour against engaging in “party politics or factional games”. She declared: “Labour is only getting started on changing Things for the better – our Employment Rights Act, renters’ rights, leasehold reform, free school meals and lifting kids out of poverty.

“I urge all my colleagues to come together, remember our values and put them into practice as a team. The Prime Minister has my full support in leading us to that end.”

There have been reports that there was no evidence to suggest the website had been leaked to journalists or political figures during the brief window it was accessible at the end of last month. It featured sections on Ms Rayner’s career, a link to back her campaign, and placeholder content outlining her reasons for pursuing leadership and endorsements from MPs, according to the newspaper.

A spokesperson for Ms Rayner stated: “This fake website has nothing to do with Angela. It was not commissioned by her or with her knowledge. She will take legal advice given the use of her name and image without her consent.”

It looks like it might be crisis time for the Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with betting company Star Sports suspending betting on Starmer leaving Downing Street before a General Election.

William Kedjanyi, Political Betting Analyst at Star Sports, said: “According to the betting markets, it’s all over for Keir Starmer.

“We have suspended betting on whether Starmer will make it through to the next General Election, with his chances continuing to diminish significantly in the past 24 hours.

“Despite the backing of his cabinet, Starmer is now a 1/8 shot to exit Downing Street this year (89% chance). This comes after the departures of Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney and Director of Communications Tim Allan, followed by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s calls for him to resign.“In terms of a likely successor, Angela Rayner is the big story – the former Deputy PM has firmed up at the head of the market and is now 9/4 to replace Starmer (from 13/5), with Ed Miliband also shortening to 6/1 (from 13/2). Conversely, Wes Streeting (11/2) is on the drift.