Party political offices 2020–2021

Chair of the Labour Party
In office 5 April 2020 – 8 May 2021
Leader	Keir Starmer
Preceded by	Ian Lavery
Succeeded by	Anneliese Dodds
Labour Party National Campaign Coordinator
In office 5 April 2020 – 8 May 2021
Leader	Keir Starmer
Preceded by	Ian Lavery Andrew Gwynne
Succeeded by	Shabana Mahmood

Shadow portfolios 2016–2024

Senior portfolios
2020–2024	Deputy Leader of the Opposition
2023–2024	Deputy Prime Minister
2023–2024	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
2021–2023	Duchy of Lancaster & Cabinet Office
2021–2023	Future of Work
2020–2023	First Secretary of State
2016–2020	Education
Junior portfolios
2016–2016	Women and Equalities
2016–2016	Pensions

Member of Parliament
for Ashton-under-Lyne

Incumbent

Assumed office
7 May 2015

Preceded by

David Heyes

Majority

6,791 (19.1%)

Personal details

Born

Angela Bowen

28 March 1980 (age 45)
Stockport, Greater Manchester, England

Political party

Labour

Spouse

Mark Rayner

(m. 2010; sep. 2020)

Domestic partners

Neil Batty (1995–2005)
Sam Tarry (2022–2023)

Children

Residences

Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England

Education

Avondale High School

Alma mater

Stockport College

Signature

Angela Rayner (née Bowen; born 28 March 1980) is a British politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government since July 2024. She has been Deputy Leader of the Labour Party since 2020 and Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashton-under-Lyne since 2015. Ideologically she identifies as a socialist and as being part of Labour's soft left.

Rayner was born and raised in Stockport, where she attended the comprehensive Avondale School. She left school aged 16 whilst pregnant and without any qualifications. She later trained in social care at Stockport College and worked for the local council as a care worker. She eventually became a trade union representative within Unison, during which time she joined the Labour Party. Selected to contest Ashton‑under‑Lyne in 2014 and elected for the seat at the 2015 general election, Rayner was appointed Shadow Minister for Pensions by Jeremy Corbyn in January 2016. She was promoted in July 2016 to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities. As Shadow Education Secretary, she proposed the creation of a National Education Service modelled on the National Health Service (NHS).

Following Corbyn's resignation after the party lost the 2019 general election, Rayner endorsed Rebecca Long-Bailey in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election, who came second to Sir Keir Starmer. She then successfully stood for the deputy leadership, after which she was appointed Shadow First Secretary of State. Rayner was also appointed party chair and national campaign coordinator but was removed from these roles in a reshuffle following Labour's poor performance at the 2021 local elections, subsequently being appointed Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work. She was appointed Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in a 2023 reshuffle, and was also appointed Shadow Levelling-Up Secretary and Strategic Lead for Labour's New Deal. Following Labour's landslide victory in the 2024 general election, Rayner was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities by Starmer.

The Spectator named her Politician of the Year at its annual Parliamentarian of the Year awards ceremony in 2024.

Early life and career
Political career
Deputy Prime Minister (2024–present)
Personal life
Awards and honours
See also

Early life and career

Angela Bowen was born on 28 March 1980 in Stockport, Greater Manchester. She attended Avondale School in Stockport, leaving the school aged 16 after becoming pregnant, and did not obtain any qualifications. Rayner has stated: "When I was young, we didn't have books because my mother could not read or write." She later studied part-time at Stockport College, learning British Sign Language, and gaining an NVQ Level 2 in social care.

After leaving college Rayner worked for Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council as a care worker for a number of years. During this time, she was also elected as a trade union representative for Unison. She was later elected as convenor of Unison North West, becoming the union's most senior official in the region. The Guardian featured a lengthy profile of Rayner in 2012, as part of an article on a trade union officer's working life.

Political career

Member of Parliament

In September 2014, Rayner was selected as the Labour Party's prospective parliamentary candidate for Ashton-under-Lyne. She was elected as MP for Ashton-under-Lyne at the 2015 general election with 48.1% of the vote and a majority of 10,756 votes.

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.

Shadow Minister

Rayner giving her Shadow Secretary of State for Education speech at the 2016 Labour Party Conference

On 1 July 2016, after a series of resignations from the shadow cabinet in protest at his leadership, Corbyn appointed Rayner as Shadow Secretary of State for Education. She supported the notion of a 'National Education Service' to be modelled along similar lines to the National Health Service (NHS), also promoting an increase in funding for early years education. She was considered by some as a possible future Labour leader.

At the snap 2017 general election, Rayner was re-elected as MP for Ashton-under-Lyne with an increased vote share of 60.4% and an increased majority of 11,295 votes.

Deputy Leader

Rayner's deputy leadership bid logo

At the 2019 general election Rayner was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 48.1% and a decreased majority of 4,263.

Rayner did not stand for the Labour leadership in the 2020 leadership election, and supported Rebecca Long-Bailey, who came second to Keir Starmer. However, Rayner stood for Deputy Leader and was elected on 4 April 2020, thus replacing Tom Watson. In the days following she was appointed Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Shadow First Secretary of State and Chair of the Labour Party. Rayner was appointed to the Privy Council on 12 February 2021.

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. She was subsequently appointed Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work.

On 4 September 2023, Starmer appointed Rayner as shadow levelling up secretary, and shadow deputy prime minister. Rayner's strong support base and potential as a future leader led to the New Statesman ranking her as the eighth most powerful person in British left-wing politics for 2023.

During the 2024 general election Rayner took part in a BBC debate hosted by Mishal Husain on 7 June, which also included Nigel Farage, Carla Denyer, Rhun ap Iorwerth, Daisy Cooper, Stephen Flynn and Penny Mordaunt. The debate included exchanges between Rayner and Mordaunt over Labour's alleged tax plans After the seven-way debate, a snap poll found that viewers considered Farage had won, followed by Rayner. Another debate between these leaders took place on 13 June, with Julie Etchingham as moderator. This debate included further exchanges between Rayner and Mordaunt over Labour's alleged tax plans.

Deputy Prime Minister (2024–present)

Rayner appointed as Deputy Prime Minister by Keir Starmer, 5 July 2024

Following Labour's victory in the 2024 general election, Rayner was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities by Starmer.

Rayner with Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions, 7 February 2024

Rayner speaking at the 2020 Labour Party deputy leadership election hustings in Bristol

Personal life

Aged 16, Angela Bowen had her first son, Ryan, with her 19-year-old boyfriend, Neil Batty, and took her GCSEs while pregnant. She and Batty then lived together for a while. In 2010, she married Mark Rayner, a Unison official. She has had two more sons, Charlie and Jimmy. Rayner lives in her constituency of Ashton-under-Lyne with her family. She became a grandmother, aged 37, when Ryan had a daughter in November 2017. Rayner and her husband separated in 2020. In the summer of 2022, journalists began reporting that Rayner was in a relationship with Labour MP Sam Tarry but they split up in 2023.

In an interview in 2018, Rayner said that her mother had been unable to read or write; she had previously mentioned this in a tribute she made to her mother in 2016. In a 2022 interview, Rayner said that she grew up in poverty on a council estate and could have been taken into care.

Awards and honours

In December 2024 Rayner was included in the BBC 100 Women 2024, a list of "100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2024".

Angela Rayner facts for kids

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