Angela Rayner to detail Labour’s ‘new deal’ for workers during Scotland visit amid reshuffle rumours

Scottish workers have been “left out in the cold” by ministers in Scotland and the UK, Angela Rayner has said.

The deputy Labour leader will meet apprentices in Glasgow todayto set out her party’s plans for a new deal for working people.

It comes as Ms Rayner has insisted she continues to play a constructive role in leading the Labour Party, amid speculation Sir Keir Starmer could swap some of her responsibilities in a reshuffle.

The deputy Labour leader, who was elected by the party membership alongside Sir Keir, described their relationship as an "arranged marriage" that had evolved over time.

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner. Picture: Getty Images

Speculation has mounted in recent months that Ms Rayner could lose some of her duties in the shadow cabinet as Sir Keir plans a final reshuffle before the next general election.

It was reported last month that Ms Rayner could be offered a new role overseeing the shadow levelling up team, as part of a wider ranging brief comparable to that held by former Labour minister Lord Prescott.

Mr Rayner currently serves as shadow minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, shadow secretary of state for the future of work, and deputy leader of the official Opposition, alongside her role as deputy Labour leader.

Asked by BBC Radio 4's Today programme about Labour's commitment for the next election, Ms Rayner said the party's "values remain exactly the same" despite it appearing to have softened many policy proposals in recent months.

She said: "Mine and Keir's relationship has evolved as well. I often talk about it as an arranged marriage. We were both elected by the membership differently and independently.

"We have worked constructively together and we continue to do so, because me and Keir both know that we need a Labour government and we need that change in this country."

Pressed about whether she may see her responsibilities change in an Opposition reshuffle, Ms Rayner said: "The important thing is that I will be the deputy prime minister and I will be the deputy leader of the Labour Party, so actually the important job is around supporting Keir as the leader.

"To me, the important job is getting into Government and then delivering, and wherever that is and however I use my skills within that, I am happy to do that.

"It is an absolute honour and a privilege to be an MP for my constituency, and to be on the front bench, and to do the job I am doing, and to be His Majesty's Government would be an incredible honour, and I take that seriously and would do whatever it takes to improve the lives of British people in whatever role that is."

In the event of victory in the next general election, Labour is pledging to tackle insecure work by giving workers the right to protection against unfair dismissal, sick pay from day one and parental leave.The strategy would also ban zero-hour contracts and fire and rehire policies.Speaking ahead of her Scotland visit, Ms Rayner accused the SNP-led Scottish Government and the Conservative-run Westminster Government of failing workers.“Scotland’s workers have been left out in the cold as ministers in Westminster and Holyrood engage in endless political battles on internal obsessions,” she said.“But it is not inevitable for working people to shoulder the burden of this crisis, and it is not inevitable that working parents must struggle to feed and clothe their children.”