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Listen: Angela Rayner’s disastrous turn on LBC – ‘you should have had that number!’

Last week it was Diane Abbott who was caught on the hoof by Nick Ferrari when she took to the airwaves to unveil Labour’s policing policy. Unable to give the correct figures regarding how much her party’s plan to put more police on the beat would cost, the shadow home secretary seemed woefully unprepared for office.

Today it was the turn of Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary. Speaking on LBC, she said a Labour government would put £5.6billion into schools in the next Parliament. While Rayner ought to be congratulated for getting the funding figure right (a feat beyond Diane Abbott), she went on to exhibit a dismaying lack of knowledge regarding the specifics of the policy.

With Labour pledging to reduce class sizes to under 30, Ferrari asked how many children it would affect. It turns out that Rayner had no idea:

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Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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