Labour’s Jonathan Reynolds wasted no time in announcing himself to the electorate this week, and became the first minister to face Laura Kuenssberg on her Sunday morning show. The Business Secretary pulled no punches during his interview.
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Who is Jonathan Reynolds?
Pressed on a range of topics, the host raised comments made by Reform leader Nigel Farage earlier this week. After his party returned five MPs from over four million votes, the Brexit cheerleader vowed that Labour would be his next target.
Farage told crowds on Friday that Reform ‘would come after Labour’. This fighting talk has been met with a robust response, however, and Reynolds was ready to deliver a few home truths during his appearance on the BBC broadcast.
He claimed that many representatives of Reform ‘are not good people’, slamming their support for Liz Truss’ economic policies and Vladimir Putin’s position on Ukraine. Reynolds did, however, defend the voters who were convinced to support them.
Labour Minister turns the screw on Reform
He further stated that Reform will now have to deal with the scrutiny ‘they should have always faced’. The party, which is also registered as a limited company, will take public office for the first time this week. And Reynolds is prepared to spar:
“I met good people in this election who wanted to vote for Reform. But that doesn’t mean Reform are good people. When we told people what they believe – supporting the economic policies of Truss, and the foreign policies of Putin – they were horrified.”
“Reform will now come under the kind of scrutiny which they maybe always should have come under, and they will find that very difficult. We will come for them. We will tell people what their agenda means for our security and finances.”
“We will relish that argument, because we are in the right place, and Reform are not. Those who voted Reform are good people, but often don’t know the full agenda. Backing Russia’s position on Ukraine is not in our national interests.” | Jonathan Reynolds