Angela Rayner

Angela Rayner (née Bowen; born 28 March 1980) is a British politician and trade unionist who has been Labour and Co-operative Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashton-under-Lyne since 2015. She served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 2020 to 2025, and as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government from July 2024 until her resignation in September 2025. Ideologically she identifies as a socialist and as 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. After less than a year of working she became a trade union representative within Unison, during which time she joined the Labour Party. She was selected to contest Ashton‑under‑Lyne in 2014 and was elected for the seat at the 2015 general election. From 2016 until 2020 Rayner held several Shadow Cabinet positions under Jeremy Corbyn. She successfully stood for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party in 2020, and held further Shadow Cabinet positions under Keir Starmer. Following Labour's victory in the 2024 general election, Rayner entered government and was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government by Starmer in his government; she resigned from both roles in September 2025 after a report concluded that she had broken the Ministerial Code by underpaying stamp duty on a property purchase, to which she had admitted. She was later cleared of deliberate wrongdoing in May 2026.