A speech delivered last night by Labour’s former deputy prime minister has intensified the debate about the party’s future. We reproduce an edited extract of it here When the British people voted for us, they voted for change and against a government that did not stand up for their interests. They were disillusioned by a system that is rigged against them, which they want us to transform. The Labour party is at its best when we are bold, when we stand for and stand by our values, and show we are delivering on them. We should make clear that our driving mission is to represent working people. When vested interests stand in the way, we should not shy away from a fight. We should take them on, head on. We did it with the employment rights bill. For millions of workers, after decades of low pay and insecurity, we chose stronger rights and security. We did it with the Renters’ Rights Act. For the renters who lived in fear that they could lose their home in an instant, we chose to ban no-fault evictions and stop outrageous rent hikes. Angela Rayner is the Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne. She spoke at the spring reception of the campaign group Mainstream Continue reading...