PMQs review: Angela Rayner brings a 'touch of class' in her first battle against Boris Johnson

When the council estate girl takes on the posh boy from Eton, you know it’s going to be the blockbuster political event of the week.

Nobody knew what to expect when Sir Keir Starmer was forced to drop out of PMQs while a family member awaited their coronavirus test results.

And neither did Boris Johnson, judging by the look on his face.

When the internet trolls heard that Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner was taking on the Prime Minister, Twitter was awash with nasty comments about her not being “qualified”.

Mrs Rayner left school at 16, pregnant and with no qualifications and she has fought her way to the most senior levels of the Labour Party.

Meanwhile, our Prime Minister’s background is well-known – as are his past comments on single mums.

So it’s no wonder that both looked unsure when they squared up at the despatch box.

In contrast to Sir Keir's usual forensic courtroom questioning, today’s PMQs was a true battle of council estate versus country estate as Mrs Rayner fired shots over Mr Johnson’s earnings, grouse shooting and luxury holidays.

Mrs Rayner jumped to her feet with a big smile as she fired the starting gun with a story about a man “called Keir”.

Her colleagues loved this quip. Mr Johnson was still wearing his “unsure” face.

This man called Keir, Mrs Rayner said, was able to “do the right thing” and self-isolate while working from home.

And in her first personal touch of the exchange, she added: “But other people aren't in this position…like the care workers I used to work alongside before I was elected to this House.

“The Prime Minister once earned £2,300 an hour. So can the Prime Minister tell us what is the average hourly rate for a care worker in this country?"

Ouch. The Prime Minister doesn’t get this kind of stick from Sir Keir. Then again, QC Keir has reportedly pocketed thousands in the past giving legal advice on top of his pay as an MP.

Mr Johnson did not respond with a figure, but declared his pride that this Government “instituted the national living wage”.

This was an easy win for Mrs Rayner, who replied: “The whole country would have seen that the Prime Minister doesn't know how much a care worker earns.”

She went on to challenge the Prime Minister to give social care the funding it needs to "get through this looming winter crisis".

And, in stark contrast to the usual tub-thumping responses he gives Sir Keir, Mr Johnson conceded they were “concerned about the rates of infection in care homes” and are planning to announce a “winter care home action plan” tomorrow.

Mrs Rayner decided this was the moment to hit Mr Johnson with a reality check on testing and PPE.

Staring him down, she said: “Get some skates on it!”

She took aim: “The Prime Minister has put his faith in Operation Moonshot, but meanwhile on planet Earth there are no NHS tests available for several high-infection areas."

Responding in his new softly-softly PMQs manner, Mr Johnson said they had seen a “colossal spike” in demand for tests.

“Just so she knows the scale of the ambition – we want to get up to 500,000 tests per day by the end of October,” he added.

In case Mrs Rayner was in any doubt of the scale, Mr Johnson added: “That is a huge huge number.”

This newly mellow Prime Minister was even seen nodding in agreement with Mrs Rayner when she stressed the importance of sorting out the testing crisis.

"We don't have weeks," she projected across the House. Nod, nod, nod.

Mrs Rayner’s best joke of the exchange was directed at Mr Johnson's senior aide Dominic Cummings.

She said: “The next time a man with Covid symptoms drives from London to Durham it will probably be for the nearest Covid test".

But she quickly flipped the debate back to a more amicable tone by asking Mr Johnson if they could work together to ensure women can give birth with their partners present .

“I totally agree,” said nice-guy Mr Johnson, who added: “I'm very happy to encourage co-operation.”

For her last hit, Mrs Rayner challenged Mr Johnson over this week’s controversial story on the resumption of grouse shooting.

She said: “People can't say goodbye to their loved ones, grandparents can't see their grandchildren and frontline staff can't get the tests that they need - and what was the top priority for the Covid war cabinet this weekend? Restoring grouse shooting.”

The Tories heckled and sighed, as Mrs Rayner grew noticeably louder and more passionate: “I suppose it’s good news for people like the Prime Minister’s friend who paid for a luxury Christmas getaway to a Caribbean island and funded his leadership campaign and just so happens to own two grouse moor estates.

"So Prime Minister, is this really your top priority?"

Mr Johnson could now breathe a sigh of relief after receiving a much easier grilling than Ed Miliband gave him earlier this week.

Back to his more animated self, Mr Johnson dismissed the grouse shooting issue as “tangential if not scare stories”.

The exchange was largely smooth sailing for Mr Johnson, who appeared more considerate in his responses and less full of bluster than he usually is with Sir Keir.

Meanwhile, Mrs Rayner demonstrated a much more personal approach than her boss with a smattering of jokes.

There was an element of understandable nerves, but Mrs Rayner certainly brought a touch of class to PMQs.

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