They warned her she’d “never amount to anything” since she was pregnant. But today the outspoken 43-year-old is once again proving the skeptics wrong, having been given the formal title of shadow deputy prime minister by Sir Keir Starmer, with the heavy brief of leveling up and housing.
In 2021, the elected Labour deputy leader was demoted by the leader. She ultimately defeated him and emerged victorious with several honorifics. Despite or perhaps because of her tendency to ruffle Conservative feathers, her portfolio has recently been given greater priority in anticipation of an election next year.
She denounced the Conservatives as “scum” during the 2021 Labour conference. She expressed regret for her remark but stands by her honest, forthright style. Last year, in the wake of the conference incident, she claimed, “The Tories fear me because I say it how I see it,” despite receiving death and rape threats that resulted in police protection.
Getty Images Rayner and Starmer at the 2022 Labour Party Conference
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Political assaults against her have been rife with sexism and classism. She gained notoriety after an anonymous Tory said she crossed and uncrossed her legs to divert the attention of Boris Johnson, her political opponent.
“feminist with a capital F” describes her because she has been vocal about the issue for years. Earlier this year, she made headlines when she said that the Conservative party was “infected with sexism from top to bottom” after Mr. Johnson defended a Tory candidate who previously warned women to “keep your knickers on” to avoid being raped.
Ms. Rayner has also received criticism for having a northern accent, with one email recipient writing, “you sound thick as mince.” Michael Fabricant, a Conservative lawmaker, called her a “squawker” and said she “can’t hold down any job which requires intellect.”
Her expanding resume belies this assumption and attests to her perseverance and success in the face of adversity. She has indicated that she experienced a “full of fear” childhood in Stockport. She took care of her bipolar mother, who often gave her the wrong things to eat because she misread the labels.
Ms. Rayner’s first employment out of high school was caring for the elderly in Stockport, where she lived with her daughter. A coworker said that, given her tendency to question authority figures, she would make an excellent union representative. She joined a union despite “not knowing what a trade union was” and rose to the position of senior steward, where she helped lead the campaign against home care privatization.
She was first elected as the representative for Ashton-under-Lyne in 2015. When her attempt to purchase R2D2-themed high heels was unsuccessful, she made headlines by issuing a threat to the retailer on House of Commons stationery. “Shoebacca-gate” was a term used to describe the controversy. Her climb was rapid after a shaky beginning.
She was the youngest person to ever hold the position of shadow education secretary when she was elevated from her previous position as shadow pensions minister to shadow for women and equalities following the resignation of 63 frontbenchers in the summer of 2016 in protest of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
A personal education plan was presented. During her first address in the House of Commons, she praised the “rescuing” efforts of Labour’s Sure Start programs. She had the backing of the party membership and the ability to block Sir Keir’s failed attempt to remove her as party chair once she was chosen as deputy leader in 2020.
She describes herself as “quite hardline” on law and order, and has reportedly said things like “shoot your terrorists and ask questions second” to law enforcement. Sir Keir has decided to make the most of Ms. Rayner’s outspokenness as he launches an election campaign against Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives in Labour’s former Red Wall strongholds.
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