Angela Rayner defends acceptance of donations and gifts from party donors ahead of Labour conference speech

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has defended her acceptance of donations and gifts from party donors, saying she has been “open and transparent” about the process.

Ahead of her keynote speech at the Labour conference, Rayner told Laura Kuenssberg that she did not believe she had broken any rules after accepting accommodation from a wealthy Labour donor and friend during a personal holiday in New York.

Rayner explained she decided to declare it as she stayed there for a couple of days and said: “I think I was overly transparent.”

She also said that she understood that people are frustrated by the saga around donations, but added that such donations had been a feature of British politics for a very long time.

Rayner also said that she believes in a “carrot and stick approach” in government and said: “Being a pain all the time doesn’t always get you what you want to achieve.

“I will be pushy when I need to be pushy. We are a team, our cabinet is a team and I am working with all levers of government.”

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