Angela Rayner returned to the cabinet as secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, months after settling her tax affairs with HM Revenue and Customs.
She quit as Sir Keir Starmer’s deputy PM and housing secretary after the then prime minister’s independent ethics adviser found that she had broken the ministerial code by underpaying stamp duty when she bought a flat in May 2025.
As housing secretary, Rayner will be a key figure in delivering Burnham’s plans to devolve power from Westminster and oversee a large-scale expansion of council house building.
Born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in 1980, Rayner grew up on one of the area’s poorest council estates and from an early age, was caring for her mother, who had bipolar disorder and suffered from depression.
She left school with no qualifications but, after having her first child at 16, Rayner studied part-time at college, gained a vocational qualification in social care.
As she worked as a care worker in Stockport, she also rose quickly through the ranks of the union Unison, and she credits the union movement for encouraging her to enter politics. She became MP for Ashton-under-Lyne in 2015 and is a powerful figure on Labour’s “soft left”.
