Will Angela Rayner take her own advice?

It seems Angela Rayner is in hot water again. The Labour deputy leader might have thought she had escaped unscathed from claims about the sale of her ex-council house. But Greater Manchester Police (GMP) now says it is reassessing its previous decision not to investigate allegations that she gave false information on official documents, in a potential breach of electoral law. A sub-optimal start for Labour’s local election campaign today…

For her part, Rayner continues to protest her innocence. She insists that the row is ‘manufactured’ in an attempt to ‘smear’ her. She told Newsnight last week that there had been ‘no wrongdoing’ and “no unlawfulness’, adding: ‘I’ve been very clear there’s no rules broken.’ Yet, as Nick Robinson pointed out to Angela Rayner on Radio 4 this morning, she would not stand for such excuses if she happened to be a Tory.

Mr S can’t help wondering whether Rayner’s problems partly stem from the fact that – much like Ed Davey and the postmasters – she has spent much of this parliament demanding awfully high standards of others.