Angela Rayner mocks Rishi Sunak after PM skips Commons grilling... AGAIN

Today, the Conservative leader is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the NHS, and next week he will attend the Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

With Oliver Dowden filling in for Sunak, Angela Rayner opened proceedings by saying: “I’m glad to see the Right Honourable Gentleman here today. I think I’m right in saying that I have the pleasure again next week.

“Two weeks on the trot. They really have given up.”

Ready and waiting for such a barb, Dowden reported: “It might come as a surprise to the Right Honourable Lady, but actually, some leaders trust their deputies to stand in for them”.

With the tone set for a combative PMQs, the two deputy party leaders exchanged choice words on interest rate rises, renters, house building, no-fault evictions, and mortgages.

Rayner’s first port of call was the “Tory mortgage bombshell,” where she says each day 4,000 families’ mortgage deals expire.

Rayner spoke directly to the Tory benches across the floor: “Do they still claim to be the party of home ownership?”

Dowden deflected the question, stating that on mortgage rates he would “support the independence of the Bank of England to take necessary measures to control inflation.”

Instead, the Deputy Prime Minister criticised Labour’s canned £28billion annual borrowing plans as indicative of the party’s strategy should they come to office.

The temperature was raised by Rayner referring to Dowden’s answers as “pathetic,” joking that “the only thing that’s not soaring in price at the moment are his gags, which are getting cheaper.”

Dowden then pivoted towards rumours of a Labour reshuffle: “The last time the leader of the Labour party tried to sack the Right Honourable Lady, she walked out with a promotion.”

Rayner attempted to get a straight answer out of the deputy PM on no-fault evictions: "Will he tell us if the PM has a spine to stand up to the vested interests in his own party and finally deliver their promise to ban no fault evictions?"

In response, Dowden championed the Government introducing legislation that supports renters for the first time, and said the party would continue to protect renters.

Claiming to have spoken to a housing minister who was unaware of the number of houses being built, Rayner asked who was responsible for house building.

Dowden didn’t let up on banging the Tory drum, praising the record levels of housing being built, a level that Dowden claims is more than when Labour was in office.

Turning the screw, Rayner asked: “House building is set to collapse to its lowest level since the war. Rents and mortgages are soaring. Home ownership is plummeting and over a million people are trapped waiting for a council house…. Build more houses!”

Dowden retorted with a personal jibe: "It's the same old thing from her. She stacks up the endless job titles, she takes the union cash, and she constantly talks Britain down.”

Later in the session, Dowden said he was sad to hear that Mhairi Black would not stand in Parliament again, given they joined together.

Black clapped back that they would likely be leaving together.