Angela Rayner

Angela Rayner (née Bowen; born March 28, 1980) is a British politician who has held charge of Shadow Secretary of the State for the Future of Work since 2021. And she also held the position of Shadow Minister and Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 2021. Since 2020, she has served as the Labour Party’s deputy leader, the opposition’s deputy leader, and the shadow first secretary of state. Since 2015, Rayner has served as Ashton-under-Member Lyne of Parliament (MP). She belongs to Labour’s soft left and identifies as a socialist regarding ideology. Read more.

Rayner was reared in Stockport and attended the public Avondale School for secondary education.

She dropped out the school at age 16 while pregnant and without a diploma. She eventually received social care training at Stockport College and worked as a care worker for the neighborhood council. She ultimately rose through Unison’s ranks to become a trade union representative, at which point she joined the Labour Party. She was chosen to run for Ashton-under-Lyne in 2014 and won the seat in the general election of 2015. In January 2016, Jeremy Corbyn nominated her as Shadow Minister for Pensions. As the Shadow Secretary of State for Education and the Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, Rayner elevated to the Shadow Cabinet in July 2016. She suggested the establishment of a National Education Service modeled after the National Health Service while serving as the Shadow Education Secretary (NHS).

She supported Rebecca Long-Bailey, who finished second to Keir Starmer in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election and then ran successfully for deputy leader. She was then named party chair and national campaign coordinator after Labour’s dismal showing in the local elections of 2021. She was demoted from these positions and later named Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. And also the Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Employment.

Early life and career

Rayner was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, on March 28, 1980. She went to Avondale School in Stockport but left at age 16 because she was pregnant. Rayner never received a diploma. Afterward, she took part-time classes at Stockport College, where she studied social care and earned an NVQ Level 2 in British Sign Language.

Rayner spent several years as a care worker for Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council after graduating from college. She was also chosen to serve as a trade union representative for Unison at this time. She then won the election for convenor of Unison North West, rising to the position of the union’s top representative in the area. In 2012, The Guardian published a thorough profile of Rayner as part of an article on the daily activities of a trade union officer.