Angela Rayner (née Bowen), born on 28 March 1980, is a British politician and trade unionist serving as the Labour and Co-operative Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashton-under-Lyne since 2015. She identifies ideologically as a socialist and belongs to Labour's soft left. Raised in Stockport on a council estate, Rayner left school at 16 while pregnant and without qualifications. She later trained in social care and worked as a care worker for the local council before becoming a trade union representative with Unison, which led to her joining the Labour Party. Rayner entered Parliament following the 2015 general election and held multiple Shadow Cabinet roles under Jeremy Corbyn from 2016 to 2020, including Shadow Secretary of State for Education. In 2020, she was elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. Under Keir Starmer's leadership, she continued to hold senior shadow positions. Following Labour's victory in the 2024 general election, Rayner was appointed both Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in July 2024. She held these positions until her resignation in September 2025 after an ethics report found she breached the Ministerial Code by underpaying stamp duty on a property purchase, an issue she acknowledged. Throughout her career, Rayner has been noted for rising from a challenging background to prominent political leadership, and for her advocacy on social and labour issues. Her tenure as Deputy Prime Minister marked her highest governmental role to date, although it ended amid controversy related to ministerial conduct[1][3][4][5].