Angela Rayner has pleaded for her “soulmate” Sam Tarry to remain a Labour MP after he was deselected by the party.
Mr Tarry was blocked from running in Ilford South in a ballot last October, as locals chose a council leader to fight the next election in the constituency.
He is a close political ally of Ms Rayner, who is deputy Labour leader, and the pair have been romantically linked since her separation from a union boss.
While speaking at a fundraising dinner in Mr Tarry’s constituency on Wednesday, Ms Rayner is reported to have said: “If the Labour Party doesn’t stand for fairness then what do we stand for? He is one of the most kind-hearted, amazing individuals and he’s also my soulmate.”
In remarks first reported by the Guido Fawkes website, Ms Rayner added that Mr Tarry’s constituents were “incredibly lucky to have him as your MP”.
“I get to see a lot of Sam, and I get to see a lot of behind the scenes, and I see how much he cares … That’s what you want from an MP, an MP that really cares about his area, and he really does.
“So I hope that he continues because it would be an absolute, absolute tragedy for the Labour Party to lose someone like Sam as an MP.”
Sam Tarry was sacked from the frontbench after joining strikers at an RMT picket line at Euston Station last summer. He also appeared alongside former party leader Jeremy Corbyn at a rally for striking BT workers.
Sir Keir Starmer, who previously banned frontbenchers from joining picket lines, said Mr Tarry was sacked for booking himself onto media programmes without permission and making up policy “on the hoof”.
After his sacking, Mr Tarry declined to directly criticise Sir Keir but said barons were “fuming” about his dismissal and said they were on a “direct collision course with the Labour Party”.
He also said he “absolutely” still thinks Sir Keir is the best person to become prime minister.
Mr Tarry said: “I believe Keir Starmer is absolutely still the best person to become prime minister and I’ll be campaigning every day for a Labour government.”
He added that the Labour Party needed a “fundamental recalibration” of its relationship with the trade union movement and needed to demonstrate it was on their side.
