ANGELA RAYNER FORCED TO CANCEL GLASTONBURY APPEARANCE
Angela Rayner and other senior politicians have been forced to cancel appearances at Glastonbury Festival because of their general election commitments.
The deputy Labour leader was scheduled to take part in a panel about the election on Saturday at the Left Field stage, which plays host to socialist talks as well as live music performances.
But Rishi Sunak calling the election for July 4, months earlier than many expected, means she has had to withdraw from the event.
Billy Bragg, the Left-wing singer who organises the Left Field stage, confirmed Ms Rayner was among the Westminster figures who will no longer appear.
Mr Bragg wrote on Instagram: “Late last year when we began planning this year’s Left Field at Glastonbury, we thought it would be a good idea to invite a number of Labour MPs, given there was a strong chance that they might be in power by the end of the year.
“We had more or less confirmed one for each panel when Sunak called the election. Understandably, MPs feel they need to be out campaigning on the last weekend before the ballot, so the panel’s team led by Rosie Rogers has been working hard to find suitable replacements.”
More politicians back out
Nadia Whittome, the Labour candidate for Nottingham East who entered Parliament aged 23 at the 2019 election, has also pulled out of an event about the migration crisis.
Ms Whittome was set to speak at a talk called “Small boats – safe routes and solidarity” alongside representatives from the Rainbow Migration charity, which provides support to LGBT asylum seekers, and Minnie Rahman, a migrants’ rights campaigner.
Also absent from the final line up is Caroline Lucas, who is standing down at the election as the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion but is channelling her efforts into her successor’s campaign.
Kate Osborne, a Labour candidate on the Left of the party, will still take part in a discussion about the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, which will focus on “reimagining justice”.
Other events across the stage include ‘“Trans liberation now!”, “Israel-Palestine: Hope and solidarity in action” and “How to end the housing crisis”.
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, withdrew from a panel at the Left Field stage in 2016 to focus on the aftermath of the Brexit vote.
But he returned the following year to introduce the American rap duo Run the Jewels, where he was greeted with a hero’s welcome and chants of “oh, Jeremy Corbyn” to the tune of Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes.
Mr Corbyn gave a speech weeks after the 2017 election, where he was beaten by Theresa May but enjoyed a late surge in support that forced a hung parliament.
Tom Watson, who was Mr Corbyn’s deputy, was undeterred by the result of the EU referendum in 2016 and, according to his social media, enjoyed a ‘silent disco’ until at least 4am on the Sunday that followed the vote.
He uploaded a picture of himself to Snapchat wearing white trousers and muddy welly boots, with one hand on his hip and the other clasping a can of Thatchers cider.
2024-06-26T07:45:12Z dg43tfdfdgfd