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Angela has been accused of (Image: Getty)
Angela Rayner’s true colours came out in full force during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), with her playful and bold body language stealing the spotlight during a lively exchange with Shadow Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden.
According to body language expert Judi James, Rayner was “fearless, spontaneous,” and seemed to embrace a sense of fun in her exchange with Dowden.
James described Rayner’s body language as “everything Starmer’s is not”, saying: “She showed how much she relishes being let off the chain to show how her fire and straight-talking delivery contrasts with Starmer's more robotic, tepid behaviours.”
Rayner even threw a “love heart gesture” at Dowden in what James described as a “flirty schoolgirl style of communication,” which seemed out of sync with the otherwise serious mood of the House.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Shadow Deputy Prime Minister stood in for Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, with Rayner handling questions ahead of next week’s budget.
Fans claimed the pair had "chemistry" (Image: Getty)
Amid the lighthearted atmosphere, some online users took it further, with one suggesting the pair were “flirting.” Another added: “Serious chemistry here between Angela Rayner and Oliver Dowden.”
James further analysed Rayner’s body language throughout the session, noting a clear shift when the discussion turned to more serious matters. “Her body language suddenly looks tamer and more impersonal,” James observed, as Rayner addressed a question from Dawn Butler.
“She resorts to reading what looks like word for word from the notes, speaking in a dying fall with only a few words picked out for emphasis. Her leaning on one arm pose looks incongruent in terms of her verbal response though, as though she is trying to play down the drama and project a more measured calm for this particular answer.”
This isn’t the first time Rayner has been the subject of scrutiny over her behaviour in the Commons.
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In 2022, a newspaper was widely criticised for accusing Rayner of using her looks to distract the then-Prime Minister by crossing and uncrossing her legs during PMQs, an accusation Rayner dismissed as “sexist tripe.”
The comparison to the famous scene in Basic Instinct was roundly denounced, with then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling the claims “ridiculous.”
Elsewhere, Rayner came under fire from Dowden over Labour's manifesto pledge not to raise taxes for working people.
The Deputy Prime Minister was asked by her Tory counterpart to define the term "working people".
Ms Rayner replied: “The definition of working people is the people that the Tory party have failed for the last 14 years.”
The shadow deputy PM went on to insist the Labour politician "can’t even define who working people are”.
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