Angela Rayner, born Angela Bowen on 28 March 1980 in Stockport, Greater Manchester, is a British Labour Party politician and trade unionist.
She has served as the Member of Parliament for Ashton-under-Lyne since 2015 and currently holds the position of Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, a role she previously occupied from 2024 until her resignation in September 2025 before returning to it in 2026.
She also served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 2020 to 2025 and as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from July 2024 to September 2025.
Rayner grew up in poverty on a council estate, left school at 16 without qualifications after becoming pregnant, and built her career through social care work and trade union activism before entering politics.
Siblings
Angela is the second of three children. She has an older brother named Darren, born in 1978, and a younger sister named Tracey, born on Christmas Day in 1982.
The siblings grew up together on a council estate in Stockport amid significant hardship, with their mother struggling with bipolar disorder and an inability to read or write, and their father often absent or unemployed.
Rayner has spoken of how she, her brother and sister were largely raised by their grandmother, who worked multiple jobs to support them.
She has described her brother and sister as smarter than herself, noting that she became the most successful among them because she received opportunities they never had.
Rayner has also mentioned that her brother served in Iraq.
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Career
Rayner left Avondale School in Stockport at the age of 16 while pregnant and without formal qualifications.
She later studied part-time at Stockport College, gaining a vocational qualification in social care and learning British Sign Language.
She began working as a care worker for Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, where poor working conditions drew her into trade union activity with Unison.
Rising through the ranks, she became the most senior elected Unison official in North West England, representing hundreds of thousands of workers.
In 2015 she was elected as the first female MP for Ashton-under-Lyne.
Under Jeremy Corbyn she held shadow cabinet roles including Shadow Pensions Minister and Shadow Secretary of State for Education.
In 2020 she was elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.
She later served in additional shadow positions under Keir Starmer, including Shadow Deputy Prime Minister and Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Following Labour’s victory in the 2024 general election she became Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
She resigned from both roles in September 2025 after admitting she had underpaid stamp duty on a property purchase, but returned as Housing Secretary in July 2026.
Accolades
In 2023 the New Statesman placed Rayner as the eighth most powerful person in British left-wing politics.
In 2024 she was named Politician of the Year by The Spectator at its Parliamentarian of the Year awards.
The same year she was included in the BBC’s 100 Women list of inspiring and influential women from around the world.
These recognitions reflect her rapid rise from a challenging background to senior national office and her prominence as a working-class voice within British politics.
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