Rushanara Ali, Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Stepney and minister for homelessness and democracy, speaks in the Commons as Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner watches

Yesterday another example of Rayner-itis was wheeled into the consulting rooms and I regret to say it was an advanced case. It is at times such as this that we specialists slip into professional mode and try to put the human suffering to one side. It is the only way to cope. Even so, you felt for the unhappy soul. Nasty business.

The patient in question was Rushanara Ali, Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Stepney and minister for homelessness and democracy. Until recently, if asked to described Ms Ali in a few words, I would have reached for adjectives such as ‘still, serene, undemonstrative’. There was something of the mountain pool about Ms Ali. Few ripples on her surface.

No longer. The Rushanara Ali on the Government front bench yesterday afternoon during departmental questions was a fidgety, blinky, twitchy presence, ceaselessly so. Her face worked permutations from surprise to sorrow to seraphic happiness. These were not connected to what was being said. When Neil O’Brien (Con) talked of floods in his Harborough, Oadby and Wigston constituency Ms Ali’s face was wreathed with moony delight. Six months. That’s all it has taken.

Near her sat Mrs Rayner and their fellow ministers: Matthew Pennycook, Alex Norris and that dope Jim McMahon. Amiable Pennycook is the youth with the melancholic, Modigliani-sloped face. Mr Norris is a blowier, beerier proposition. He stands at the despatch with a hand in his pocket and yesterday cheerfully recalled that he was once employed by Labour to mock Cameroon Tories for being posh public schoolboys. It was soon discovered that Mr Norris himself was privately educated.

It was 37 minutes before Ms Ali had to face a question. Maybe the wait accentuated her nerves. She fiddled with her ministerial folder, repeatedly unclicking its metal binders to remove sheafs of paper and rearrange them in another part of the file. She mumbled to herself, clasped and unclasped her hands, shut the file, reopened it, gawped at her notes, threw back her head and swallowed, as nervous fliers will before take-off. When the moment for her first answer came, the words did not come out right.

Mrs Rayner, who had been quieter than normal – bored – examined Ms Ali from behind. Poor Rushanara seemed to sense her boss’s stare drilling into her spine. She plicked her pen-top and her fingers quivered on the despatch box. A scratch at her cheek. A flick of the fringe. She looked as if she might be sick at any moment.

She had a chance, moments later, to sit directly beside Mrs Rayner. Nooo! She implored Mr McMahon to fill the slot instead. Her tics and twitches were now in overdrive. There was barely a second when her face was composed.

Something has happened to her. Angela Rayner. That’s what. There may be a Pedro Almodovar film in the condition of the poor women who have to work with Big Ange.

READ MORE:

Americans view the UK as ‘terrible’ and ‘chaotic’ under Labour, according to poll as Trump returns to White House

Americans view the UK as ‘terrible’ and ‘chaotic’ under Labour, according to new research.

An exclusive survey for DailyMail.com found those were the words most often picked when people were asked to describe the ‘current state of the UK’.

However, the JL Partners polling also reveals that Keir Starmer has made little impact in the US, with six in 10 unclear how Britain has been faring since the new PM took charge.

The study, carried out between January 10 and 12, comes as Sir Keir desperately tries to forge strong relations with Donald Trump.

The premier set to head for Washington DC within weeks as he pleads with the returning president not to hammer the UK economy by imposing tariffs.

An exclusive survey for DailyMail.com found ‘terrible’ and ‘chaotic’ were the words most often picked when people were asked to describe the ‘current state of the UK’

However, the JL Partners polling also reveals that Keir Starmer has made little impact in the US, with six in 10 unclear how Britain has been faring since the new PM took charge

The study, carried out between January 10 and 12, comes as Sir Keir (pictured) desperately tries to forge strong relations with Donald Trump

Sir Keir sent his congratulations in a gushing statement overnight, insisting Transatlantic ties are built on ‘unshakeable foundations’ and hinting at a push for a trade deal.

But there are mounting concerns about the huge political gulf between Labour and the new White House. Rumours have been swirling that Mr Trump could punish Sir Keir for party activists going to the US to campaign for his Democrat rival Kamala Harris.

There have even been suggestions that the nomination of Lord Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador could be vetoed.

The JL Partners survey included a so-called ‘word cloud’ of responses about the status of the UK.

Alongside ‘terrible’ and ‘chaotic’, the most common answers from those who gave one were ‘unstable’ and ‘bad’.

However, a separate question on how Americans felt the ‘UK is doing under its new Prime Minister’ was slightly more positive for Sir Keir.

A fifth thought that the country was doing ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ well – with 12 per cent saying ‘badly’.

But the overwhelming majority – more than two-thirds – said ‘neither’ or were not sure.

:: JL Partners polled a sample of 1,009 registered US voters online between January 10-12. The results were adjusted to represent the wider US population.