Dominic Raab has sparked ridicule after he winked at Angela Rayner as they traded blows during a fiery Commons exchange.
The deputy PM made the gesture as the two politicians stepped in to prime minister’s questions while Boris Johnson is abroad.
Politicians and pundits poked fun at the move, including Labour’s Toby Perkins who said: “I will never unsee Dominic Raab’s wink from the despatch box at Angela Rayner. I feel soiled.”
SNP MP John Nicolson added: “All feels a bit cosy between Dominic Raab and Angela Rayner what with the winks and grins. Very Westminster.”
He made the move during a heated exchange over the cost of living crisis and the recent rail strikes.
Raab told her: “If the Labour Party, if she wants to help working people, they should be clear in standing up against these militant, reckless strikes.”
He accused Rayner of having “flip-flopped” in her position on the strikes, adding: “She talks about working people. Where was she when the comrades were on the picket line last Thursday?
“Where was she when the Labour front bench were joining them rather than standing up for the public?
“She was at the Glyndebourne music festival sipping champagne, listening to opera. Champagne socialism is back in the Labour Party.”
Rayner hit back: “I’ll tell them a few things about militancy, it’s this government that are acting in a militant way.
“While they should have been at the negotiating table, they were at the banqueting table getting hundreds of thousands squeezed out of their donors instead of dealing with the crisis...
“When they were asked about the absent prime minister’s plans to stick around until 2030, one (MP) opposite said he’d lost the plot.”