Angela Rayner is a British politician serving as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Shadow First Secretary of State since 2020.
38 Facts About Angela Rayner
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Angela Rayner has been Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work since 2021.
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Angela Rayner ideologically identifies as a socialist and as being part of Labour's soft left.
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Angela Rayner was born and raised in Stockport, where she attended the state secondary Avondale School.
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Angela Rayner left school aged 16 whilst pregnant and without any qualifications.
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Angela Rayner later trained in social care at Stockport College and worked for the local council as a care worker.
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Angela Rayner eventually became a trade union representative within Unison, during which time she joined the Labour Party.
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Angela Rayner was promoted in July 2016 to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities.
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Angela Rayner endorsed Rebecca Long-Bailey in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election, who came second to Keir Starmer, then successfully stood for the deputy leadership, after which she was appointed as party chair and national campaign coordinator.
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Angela Rayner was removed from these roles in a reshuffle following Labour's poor performance at the 2021 local elections, subsequently being appointed as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work.
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Angela Rayner was born on 28 March 1980 in Stockport, Greater Manchester.
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Angela Rayner attended Avondale School in Stockport, leaving the school aged 16 after becoming pregnant, and did not obtain any qualifications.
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Angela Rayner later studied part-time at Stockport College, learning British Sign Language, and gaining an NVQ Level 2 in social care.
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Angela Rayner was later elected as convenor of Unison North West, becoming the union's most senior official in the region.
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In September 2014, Angela Rayner was selected as the Labour Party's candidate for Ashton-under-Lyne, on the retirement of David Heyes.
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Angela Rayner won the seat at the 2015 general election, increasing the Labour majority and its share of the vote.
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Angela Rayner delivered her maiden speech on 2 June 2015.
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Angela Rayner nominated Andy Burnham in the 2015 Labour leadership election, but was one of just 18 MPs to back the incumbent Jeremy Corbyn against Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership election.
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Angela Rayner supported the notion of a 'National Education Service' to be modelled along similar lines to the National Health Service, promoting an increase in funding for early years education.
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Angela Rayner was considered by some as a possible future Labour leader.
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Angela Rayner did not stand for the Labour leadership in the 2020 leadership election, supporting her flatmate Rebecca Long-Bailey, who came second to Keir Starmer.
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Angela Rayner stood successfully for Deputy Leader, elected on 4 April 2020, replacing Tom Watson.
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Angela Rayner was appointed Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Shadow First Secretary of State and Chair of the Labour Party in the following days.
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In October 2020 Angela Rayner called Conservative MP Chris Clarkson "scum" as he was giving a speech in Parliament.
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Angela Rayner was appointed to Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council on 12 February 2021.
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Angela Rayner was removed from her roles as the Labour Party's chair and national campaign coordinator in a reshuffle by Starmer on 8 May 2021, following the 2021 local elections.
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Angela Rayner was appointed as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work.
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The former Labour cabinet minister Lord Adonis said that if Angela Rayner did not apologise for her comments, Starmer should say that he no longer has confidence in her as the deputy leader of the party.
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Angela Rayner later apologised for her comments in light of the murder of David Amess, a Conservative MP, the following month.
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In October 2021, Angela Rayner reported receiving a number of death threats and abusive messages.
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Angela Rayner cancelled a number of meetings with her constituents due to fears for her own safety.
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On 24 April 2022 Angela Rayner was the subject of a report in The Mail on Sunday, by Glen Owen, in which it was alleged that she had tried to distract Boris Johnson in the Commons by crossing and uncrossing her legs in a similar manner to Sharon Stone in a scene from the 1992 film Basic Instinct.
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In May 2022, Angela Rayner said she would resign if she received a fixed penalty notice for breaching COVID-19 regulations while campaigning during the run-up to the Hartlepool by-election and local elections the previous year.
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Angela Rayner has strongly criticised former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, as he "did not command the respect of the party", and critiqued his lack of "discipline" when it came to dealing with allegations of antisemitism.
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Angela Rayner has described herself as "quite hardline" on law and order issues, having suffered from antisocial behaviour when she was young.
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Angela Rayner has made a political point of her working-class roots.
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Angela Rayner has three sons, the first born when she was aged 16.
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Angela Rayner's second son Charlie was born prematurely at 23 weeks and Rayner says that the care that her son received demonstrated the importance of the NHS to her.