Angela Rayner illegally promoted partisan political views to schoolchildren

Angela Rayner has been accused of "openly lying", and of promoting partisan political views to schoolchildren, in contravention of The Education Act 1996. In a clip shared by Rayner on her social media (which she has since deleted following the backlash it received), when addressing a group of schoolchildren about Nigel Farage and Reform UK, the former deputy prime minister is seen telling the youngsters that Mr Farage would make people pay for the NHS, despite the fact that this has never been official Reform UK policy, and Farage has repeatedly pledged that the NHS would remain free at the point of delivery under a Reform government.

In the clip, one schoolboy is seen to say to Rayner: "You talk about the NHS and Nigel Farage, you can't really put all the blame on him because I actually think he'd be better than Keir Starmer."

In a staggering act of misinformation, and with total disregard for her legal obligations under The Education Act, The Ashton-under-Lyne MP replied: "Nigel Farage says that he wants a system that is a more insurance-style system, so that means you have to pay, that means it's not free at the point of use any more. I think that is really dangerous territory. I'd be okay in that system, by the way, I'd benefit from it now, but when I was growing up, I wouldn't have benefited from it, and my son probably wouldn't have survived if that was the system at the time.

"So, I think it's really dangerous what Nigel Farage is offering in the NHS.

The boy in the video quite bravely says Nigel Farage would be better than Keir Starmer. But instead of engaging with his reasons and inviting others to comment, Angela Rayner crushes his views, labels Nigel Farage as “really dangerous” and “terrible”, and essentially claims that her son would probably be dead if he were PM at the time.

Not only does her approach to the conversation represent an appallingly manipulative way to treat nascent political engagement, but in making unqualified claims that a theoretical health policy under a hypothetical future Reform government would lead to the deaths of children, Rayner has committed an outrageous abuse of the law, and attempted to manipulate impressionable minds for her own political ends.

The legal guidance on impartiality in schools states: Schools must prohibit the promotion of partisan political views; and should take steps to ensure the balanced presentation of opposing views.

It’s difficult to envisage how describing a political opponent as “dangerous”, and claiming their policies would endanger the lives of children, could be interpreted as anything other than extremely partisan.

The law is clear: schools must not promote partisan political views, and must ensure balance. If Angela Rayner, as is clearly the case from what can be seen in the now-deleted video, has given one-sided political messaging, and unless the headteacher has invited a Reform UK politician to rebut this disinformation and to give a balancing view, then this electioneering is a blatant contravention of Part V, Chapter IV, Sections 406-7 of the Education Act 1996.

Ben Bradley, the party's head of local government delivery, said: "Angela Rayner openly lying to school children about Nigel Farage and Reform – even suggesting that children would die if Reform were in government – based on a fake policy that Nigel and many others in Reform have consistently said is untrue.

"This is really, really bad. Using children for political points. Lying to them about your opposition. Scaring them with falsehoods, and posting it online yourself because you're somehow proud of it. This woman could be PM in a few weeks."

The added irony here, of course, is that the NHS that Angela Rayner speaks so glowingly about in the video, is the same NHS that she sued over the care provided to her disabled son, and then used the compensation payout that was intended for HIM, to buy herself a holiday home in Brighton. So, if ever there was a politician who is in no position to offer lectures on morality and decency, it is the disgraced tax-dodging former deputy-PM herself.