Why has Sir Keir Starmer been so keen to defend Angela Rayner? After all, he hasn’t always bothered to row in behind embattled colleagues, most notably leaving Rachel Reeves to weep openly on the front bench during Prime Minister’s Questions.

But in Rayner’s case, Starmer was busy defending her over the way she handled the row about her stamp duty bill on Monday – even though he knew she was still waiting for legal advice – and then again in the chamber on Wednesday.

Both he and ministers have been repeating the phrase “I am very proud” to work with Rayner, who they then point out “has come from a working class background to be Deputy Prime Minister of this country”. They often then add the (not yet proven) claim that she is “building 1.5 million homes”. The paint was hardly dry on the

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