At least three times now, Angela Rayner has given a major TV interview where she has insisted she does not want to be prime minister.
The problem for the deputy prime minister, however, is that her rejections of the crown are not very convincing.
And if there is a reason why nobody in Westminster really believes the deputy prime minister in regards to her own ambitions, the intervention on Tuesday during the final cabinet meeting before the summer recess underlined it.
Her warning about a summer of riots, linking them to economic woes and failures on controlling migration appeared to be a masterclass of political timing and messaging. At the same time, though, there is surprise among her allies that the normally dull cabinet briefing used her “spicier language” in a way which has drawn criticism of her.
But whether Ms Rayner was happy with the reporting of it or not, there was no doubt that the intervention revealed a politician who has now emerged as one of the most powerful figures in government.
There is widespread speculation among Labour MPs that the deputy prime minister is now positioning herself as the lead option to replace Sir Keir should he fall – and at the same time offer a different type of Labour government to the Starmerite project.
In terms of political timing, Ms Rayner’s intervention worked because it put a full stop to the end of a deeply troubled first year for Sir Keir.
The speed with which the public fell out of love with Starmer’s government after last year’s election landslide, the anger over welfare cuts, winter fuel and other issues has poisoned the initial 12 months of Labour’s return to power for the first time in 14 years.
With the party at around 22 points in the polls and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK touching 30 points, they know they are in trouble. The threat (imagined or otherwise) of a Jeremy Corbyn-led party could pull away even more support.
Ms Rayner ensured that as MPs headed to off on their summer breaks, the last thing they had in their minds was her as a “more authentic” voice of Labour.
There is an increasing feeling within Labour circles that Ms Rayner’s “real Labour” approach to politics is a more effective way of dealing with Farage and Reform, with the party appearing only too happy to pinch leftwing ideas including nationalising steel and the water industry, as well as paying out more benefits.
The other, cruder part of the timing is that it was just a week away from the one year anniversary of the awful murders of three children in Southport, an event which triggered the riots across the country.
Those riots were the first major challenge to a new Labour government last July and August, with Sir Keir robbed of any post-election honeymoon as the prime minister cancelled his holiday to deal with the unrest.
With protests in Epping and problems beginning to stir with both the far right and far left, Ms Rayner was laying down a marker that this time they were ready for it.
But there is a problem. As Michael Gove has pointed out, this cavalier use of a threat makes it look like the government “is at the mercy of events”. Or at least that is what critics of hers will argue.
When she returns after the summer, Ms Rayner is hoping to get an official Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, a real platform to wield power and an alternative centre of power to Downing Street.
This has been won on the back of her saving the prime minister’s skin in the welfare rebellion and negotiating a peace settlement over benefits cuts.
The kicking out of four rebels only seems to have stirred up more discontent about Starmer not putting rebels off.
Labour tends to not follow the Tory approach of quickly ditching leaders. But Ms Rayner has finished this first year ensuring that she is the clear frontrunner should the current prime minister’s position become untenable.
