Angela Rayner should have gone into the Commons with no notes at all

The deputy Labour leader could have beaten Oliver Dowden hands down if she hadn’t wasted time reading out long questions, writes John Rentoul

When she did ask questions, they were pointed and Dowden’s answers were feeble (Parliament TV)

Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, could have marmalised Oliver Dowden, Rishi Sunak’s substitute, at Prime Minister’s Questions today. But she and her minders don’t have quite enough confidence in her street-fighting ability to send her into combat without the security of long written questions to read out.

They are right to respect the threat from Dowden, whose mild exterior conceals a sharp political mind that has prepared five prime ministers for questions. But he is not Rayner’s equal out of the backroom.

All the same, he had some effective lines. He said that Rayner would not be Keir Starmer’s choice as deputy prime minister – Starmer would prefer the Lib Dem leader, Sir Ed Davey.