Angela Rayner: remarkable rise and fall of UK's deputy PM

Angela Rayner, who resigned as deputy leader of the British government on Friday, was a rare working class champion in a country long dominated by a government disproportionally educated at private schools and Oxford and Cambridge universities.

Rayner, 45, is a former care worker who had a baby at the age of 16 and left her state-run school with barely any qualifications.

But she rose to become Britain's deputy prime minister in charge of the housing brief after Labour swept the 2024 election.

It was a housing scandal that ironically led to her downfall.

After several days of controversy, she admitted on Wednesday that she had underpaid property tax on a flat purchase, blaming the mistake on "inaccurate" advice.

After an independent report said Friday she had breached the ministerial code, Rayner handed in her resignation to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, citing the findings and the "impact on her family" as reasons for leaving government.

Rayner, once seen as a possible successor for Starmer due to her popularity with the party's grassroots, grew up in Stockport, on the outskirts of Manchester in northwest England.

She lived in one of the area's most deprived social housing complexes, and in her resignation letter maintained that the challenges of government "are nothing compared to the challenge of putting food on the table".

From an early age she took responsibility for caring for her mother, who was bipolar and suffered from depression, while her father was absent much of the time.

She has recounted that as a child only having hot baths on Sundays at her grandmother's flat, because hot water was too expensive to use at home, and going to friends' homes for a full meal.

Angie, as friends and colleagues call her, left school after becoming a single mother aged 16, later studying part-time at college before learning British sign language and gaining a vocational qualification in social care.

Several years later, Rayner had another child born prematurely, who is registered blind and has special educational needs.

A mother of three sons, she became a grandmother at the age of 37, celebrating with the hashtag "Grangela".

"I've got a PhD in real life," she has said of her backstory. "Those challenges haven't broken me ... I know what my strengths are."

'Blunt'

Recognisable for her long red hair and trademark fringe, and her distinct northern accent, Rayner became one of Labour's most prominent figures during its 14 years in opposition.

She was elected deputy leader -- chosen independently of the actual leader by party members -- in 2020.

Many have compared Rayner with John Prescott, the long-time deputy of Labour's former prime minster Tony Blair, who also had a working-class background in northern England.

She has described her working relationship with Starmer -- a former lawyer criticised as overly timid and lacking charisma -- as an "arranged marriage" which has evolved over time.

"Actually we kind of complement each other," Rayner told The Guardian. "He smooths off my rough edges. I bring him out of his shell".

Rayner has been a top target for the opposition right wing Conservative deputies, who appeared to fear her blunt style and ability to connect with working class voters.

"She's blunt, bolshie and terrifies the Tories," The Guardian summarised.

In 2022 the Conservatives were criticised after one of their MPs allegedly told a newspaper that Rayner deliberately tried to distract Prime Minister Boris Johnson during debates in parliament by crossing and uncrossing her legs.

'Awkward'
Rayner, who in 2021 apologised for calling Conservative ministers "scum", has argued that her adversaries' attacks reflect their own biases.

"They don't know how to interact because they don't often meet people like me and it's a bit awkward," she said.

Rayner was first elected to parliament in 2015 as Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne near Manchester after a period working for trade unions, Labour's traditional backers.

"I never had an ambition to be a politician," she told "The Rest is Politics" podcast.

"My only dream in my teen years was to learn to drive legally," she said, adding she can "fix cars".

Rayner's outspokenness helped fuel her rise in the Labour party, first under leftist ex-leader Jeremy Corbyn, and then Starmer.

A few months before the 2024 election, the Tories' attempts to tie her to a property scandal ended in failure when police and tax officials cleared her of any wrongdoing.