Oliver Dowden rains on Angela Rayner’s parade

He’s been writing PMQs lines for 20 years but today, at long last, Oliver Dowden got the chance to deliver them himself. With Sunak globe-trotting, his deputy relished the chance to face off against the Stockport scrapper, Angela Rayner.

Labour’s deputy leader got some laughs with her reminder that after last year’s locals, Dowden had quit his then post as party chair, saying of 300 losses that someone needed to take responsibility. Who, Rayner asked, would be doing so this time after more than a thousand? As the jeers died down, Dowden hit back:

Can I just say, it really is a pleasure to see the right honourable lady here today. I was, though, expecting to face the Labour leader’s choice for the next deputy prime minister if they win the election. So I’m surprised that the Lib Dem leader isn’t taking questions today.

The Tory benches loved it. Dowden then doubled down likening the sometimes-strained relationship between Starmer and Rayner to that of another troubled TV duo.