Labour Deputy Leader Angela Rayner faced intense criticism on Sunday following what critics described as a "car crash" interview where she made contradictory statements about housing availability in the UK.
During a challenging exchange, Rayner struggled to reconcile her party's position on housing shortages with their immigration projections.
The senior Labour figure first highlighted a housing crisis before claiming "there is plenty of housing already, but there's not enough for the people that desperately need it," Sky News reports.
This apparent contradiction prompted immediate pushback from presenter Sir Trevor Phillips, who pointed out the inconsistency in her statements.
Rayner struggled to reconcile her party's position on housing shortages with their immigration projections
Getty
In the contentious exchange, Phillips challenged Rayner on Labour's plan to build 1.5 million new homes while projecting 2.5 million immigrants.
"You start the interview by telling me that there is a housing crisis and when I remind you that you have said as a Government that we are going to have 2.5 million migrants, suddenly there is a lot of housing," Phillips said. "Where are these people going to go?"
Rayner appeared to sidestep the question, instead emphasising her pledge to build homes because "far too many people are waiting on council housing lists."
She insisted the homes under Labour's affordable homes programme would be "for people who desperately need them, local people."
The interview sparked immediate backlash on social media, with users criticising Rayner's performance.
One X user branded her comments as "innumerate, incompetent, inept" and described the interview as a "car crash."
Another user, referencing Rayner's accent, wrote: "I have a thick northern accent like 'our Angela' and am acutely aware of the assumption by some that a thick northern accent equates to a thick person. My word, Angela. You don't do us any favours."
"If this was a scene out of the thick of it it would actually be pretty good," quipped another.
Angela Rayner's proposal has drawn criticismPAOthers called for greater clarity, with one user pleading: "Can we have the numbers, please? Hard facts and transparency."
Rayner's difficult Sunday also included an appearance on the BBC where she faced questions about Labour's recent polling performance.
When pressed about Nigel Farage's Reform UK overtaking Labour in a recent poll, Rayner claimed people were "impatient for change."
"We protected the most vulnerable pensioners, created the household support fund for those not eligible for pension credit, and invested in our public services within our NHS and our schools...we've already sent over 9,000 people that are illegal in this country back outside of the country," she said.
"So we're already delivering within the five months we've been in power but I understand that people are impatient for change."
When asked about cutting pensioners' winter fuel payments, the politician answered: "We had a £22 billion black hole."
