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Wes Streeting has paid tribute to Angela Rayner and said Labour "wants her backmost and needs her back".
The wellness caput heaped praise connected his erstwhile furniture workfellow during a wide-ranging code astatine the yearly enactment conference, which was packed with attacks connected Reform UK person Nigel Farage.
Ms Rayner resigned arsenic lawman enactment person and lodging caput aft a row astir her taxation affairs earlier this month.
Politics Live: Day 3 of yearly Labour conference
Addressing members gathered successful Liverpool, Mr Streeting said Labour's caller just wage statement for attraction workers could not person been achieved without her.
He said: "There's idiosyncratic other who's made a existent difference, who understands the conflict attraction workers look due to the fact that she was one.
"She brought that acquisition to the furniture array arsenic the attraction idiosyncratic who became our country's lawman premier minister. Angela Rayner, this accomplishment is yours. Thank you."
There was a large circular of applause arsenic Mr Streeting added: "And we privation her backmost arsenic well. We'll decidedly marque definite she sees that. We request her back."
The connection could beryllium seen arsenic trying to get grassroots members onside amid grim polling predictions for Labour and questions implicit whether Sir Keir Starmer tin survive.
Ms Rayner is fashionable with the Labour rank - they elected her arsenic lawman person successful 2020, but she gave up this presumption arsenic good arsenic her furniture roles erstwhile it emerged she had underpaid stamp work connected a level successful Hove.
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In his speech, Mr Streeting besides praised the Unison and GMB unions for lasting up for attraction workers.
However, that was arsenic acold arsenic his bully volition stretched - arsenic helium launched respective stinging attacks connected his opponents.
Farage 'snake lipid salesman'
The furniture minister, seen arsenic 1 of the government's champion communicators, accused Mr Farage of being the "snake lipid salesman" of British authorities and vowed to nonstop him "packing" astatine the adjacent election.
He argued that portion Labour wants to modernise the NHS - with plans for an "online" hospital - the Reform person wants an security strategy that "checks your pockets earlier your pulse".
"It mightiness beryllium close for Mr Moneybags. We cognize helium tin spend it. But what astir those who can't?" Mr Streeting asked.
"Be successful nary doubt. It's not betterment he's offering. It's a retreat. If that's the combat Farage wants, I accidental bring it."
Mr Farage has antecedently spoken astir being unfastened to an security based exemplary for the NHS, drafting a large dividing enactment with the Labour Party, which founded the National Health Service aft the Second World War.
Mr Streeting said the enactment indispensable triumph different combat too, "against the poison of post-truth politics".
He pointed to Reform's caller conference, wherever a "discredited doc claimed that the COVID vaccine gave our Royal Family cancer".
"This antheral wasn't conscionable immoderate fringe figure, he's Reform's wellness adviser. These anti-vax lies person consequences, they've led to the instrumentality of diseases we thought we had defeated," said Mr Streeting.
"Nigel Farage is simply a snake lipid salesman of British authorities and it's clip to halt buying what he's selling."
A Reform spokesperson antecedently said the doc was a "guest talker with his ain opinions who has an advisory relation successful the US government".
"Reform UK does not endorse what helium said but does judge successful escaped speech," they added.
Trouble ahead
Mr Streeting's code reflects authorities efforts to ramp up its rhetoric against Reform UK, aft 2 large polls predicted the insurgent enactment volition triumph the adjacent wide predetermination arsenic fed-up voters wantonness mainstream politics.
While that is galore years away, immoderate MPs spot the devolved and section elections adjacent May arsenic a crunch trial that could find Sir Keir's governmental survival.
Mr Streeting acknowledged this threat, saying it is not conscionable Mr Farage Labour would "send packing".
He said: "Whether it's English nationalism with Reform, Scottish nationalism with the SNP oregon Welsh nationalism with Plaid we'll instrumentality them each on."
Mr Farage said attacks connected him were a "desperate past propulsion of the dice" for a enactment successful "deep trouble", adding: "Never earlier person I seen 1 sanction that's dominated a league truthful overmuch - yes it's me, Nigel Farage."
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