Keir Starmer could learn from Angela Rayner’s humorous approach to Prime Minister’s Questions

The deputy leader of the Labour Party showed she is a far better match for Boris Johnson in the Commons, writes John Rentoul

Angela Rayner made fun of Dominic Raab’s holiday in Crete (Reuters TV)

Angela Rayner began Prime Minister’s Questions by offering her commiserations to Boris Johnson, via his deputy, for having made “absolutely zero progress on the trade deal that he promised” with the US.

Admittedly, she was helped in her performance by Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, who is a better straight man as a foil for jokes than is his boss, and less likely to think of a witty reply.

Indeed, Raab carefully avoided any attempt at humour, sticking to his prepared serious lines. Three times he said: “If we had listened to the opposition we would never have come out of lockdown.” This wasn’t the answer to any of Rayner’s six questions, but Conservative MPs liked it.