ANGELA RAYNER told firefighters today: “You will always have a sister and comrade in Parliament.”

Speaking at the FBU’s Blackpool conference, the shadow education secretary and former union representative told delegates: “I will always say what needs to be said — because we as a party have pussyfooted around what needs to be said for far too long.

“And you see that with Grenfell, when you’ve seen what deregulation and competition and privatisation could lead to when it’s left unchecked.”

Ms Rayner expressed her “pride” that the FBU voted to reaffiliate to Labour following Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership election victory, adding: “I hope that we earn your respect as frontbenchers.

“I know that takes a lot. Our party lost some of that respect in the union movement.”

She finished by thanking firefighters, saying: “I want to give you a massive heartfelt thank you for everything you do to keep us safe, to keep our country great and to keep the labour movement strong.”