PMQs: Angela Rayner says she will miss exchanges with Tory defeat ‘architect’ Dowden

Angela Rayner has said she will miss jousting with her predecessor as deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, in the House of Commons.

Rayner and Dowden clashed frequently across the commons despatch boxes when the Conservatives were in government as their parties’ respective deputy leaders. From 2021-2023, Rayner and Dowden also acted as their parties’ Cabinet Office spokespersons.

Addressing the House at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, Dowden noted that this will likely be their last commons meeting — to which Rayner replied that she will miss “the battle of the gingers”.

Dowden went on: “Our Commonwealth family is brought together by historical and cultural ties, indeed, much like the pair of us.”

Rayner responded by making a heart sign with her hands.

But returning to the despatch box, the deputy prime minister contended that Dowden was the “architect of the 2024 Tory general election campaign.”

She said: “[Dowden is] the architect of the 2024 Tory general election campaign doing his victory lap before retiring with the hereditary peers that he fought so hard to protect. He leaves behind the Tory party in utter denial — heads in the sand, refusing to accept the rejection.”

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