page_title: Angela Rayner
section_title: Member of Parliament
hierarchical_section_title: Angela Rayner / Member of Parliament
caption_attribution_description: English: Official portrait of Angela Rayner. New crop from File:Official portrait of Angela Rayner.jpg with the same dimensions as File:Official portrait of Angela Rayner crop 2.jpg but showing Rayner larger in the frame, in order to more closely match the crops of portraits of other MPs.
context_page_description: Angela Rayner is a British politician serving as Shadow First Secretary of State since 2020, and has been Member of Parliament for Ashton-under-Lyne since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as its Deputy Leader, Chair and National Campaign Coordinator since April 2020. She ideologically identifies as a socialist and as being part of Labour's soft left.
  Rayner was born in Stockport, where she attended the state secondary Avondale School. She left school aged 16 whilst pregnant and without any qualifications. She later trained in social care, eventually becoming a trade union representative within Unison, during which time she joined the Labour Party.
  In January 2016, Jeremy Corbyn appointed Rayner as Shadow Minister for Pensions. Later in 2016, she was promoted 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. She endorsed Rebecca Long-Bailey in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election, who came second to Keir Starmer, and instead successfully stood for Deputy Leader.
context_section_description: In September 2014, Rayner was selected to become Labour's candidate for the seat of Ashton-under-Lyne, after the retirement of David Heyes. She won the seat at the 2015 general election, increasing both the Labour majority and its share of the vote in the constituency. She delivered her maiden speech in the House of Commons on 3 June 2015.
  Rayner nominated Andy Burnham in the 2015 Labour leadership election, but the following year became one of just 18 Members of Parliament (MP) to back the incumbent Jeremy Corbyn against challenger Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership election.
  On 1 July 2016, after a series of resignations from the Shadow Cabinet, Corbyn appointed Rayner to the position of Shadow Secretary of State for Education. She wrote that decreasing teachers' salaries would lead to shortages in those joining the profession. She championed the policy of a ’National Education Service’, which would be modelled along similar lines to the UK National Health Service, as well as promoting an increase in funding to early years education. For her role of Shadow Education Secretary, she was considered by some as a possible future Labour Leader.
  In the 2019 general election, Rayner successfully defended her Ashton-under-Lyne seat, being returned as Member of Parliament for the third time in 5 years. She opted to not run for the Labour leadership in the 2020 leadership election, choosing to support her flat-mate Rebecca Long-Bailey, who came second to Keir Starmer, and instead successfully stood for Deputy Leader. She was elected as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party on 4 April 2020, replacing Tom Watson. She was appointed Shadow First Secretary of State and Chair of the Labour Party the following day.
caption: Rayner in 2017
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