Lord Ashcroft: Will she be Prime Minister soon? How we might yet see the reign of Rayner
Why resist verification?
Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC is an international businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster. For more information on his work, visit
“My daughter will be running this country in a few years’ time…she’ll be the prime minister soon.”
When Angela Rayner’s mother, Lynne, uttered these words during an ITV interview in 2020, even Rayner sniggered. But as the Bob Monkhouse quip has it, she’s not laughing now. The self-styled Queen of the North, who left school aged 16 with no qualifications and a baby on the way, really could follow in the footsteps of Churchill, Attlee, Thatcher and Blair.
This possibility will delight some voters and it will horrify others.
But who is Angela Rayner and is she suited to high office?
I first thought of writing her biography in the summer of 2022 after she gave an interview at the Edinburgh Festival. It was hard not to be interested in this direct politician who spoke so openly about her tough childhood and tricky path to Westminster.
By then, she was Labour’s deputy leader, and often courted controversy. Whether calling Tories “scum” or describing Jeremy Corbyn as “a thoroughly decent man” after the Equality and Human Rights Commission concluded anti-Semitism in Labour had thrived under his leadership, she had an undeniable presence.
Yet little independent research into her background had been done. In the autumn of 2023, when the Conservative government was on thin ice and Rayner had just been promoted to shadow deputy prime minister, I began work.
It was soon clear that what she lacked in academic credentials she made up for in ambition, though I found her a more brittle personality than some might assume.
She was born in Stockport in March 1980, the second of three siblings. Her childhood was materially deprived and emotionally fractured. Her mother suffered from bipolar disorder and Rayner helped to look after her; her father, Martyn, had no steady profession. The family settled on a crime-ridden housing estate and were supported by Giro cheques. Her grandmother, Jean, was a strong influence and Rayner was an enthusiastic Girl Guide. But she was bullied at school and by 13 was nightclubbing in Manchester and, in her words, “getting into scrapes”.
After giving birth she moved to her own council flat and made ends meet selling flowers in pubs, then at 18 became a private Home Help for six months. From 2000, she did the same job for Stockport Council. I remain amazed by her claim she was a Samaritan between the ages of 17 and 20.
She once said she had been a carer “for almost a decade”. In fact, she did the job for a maximum of five years. At Stockport council she joined the trade union UNISON and by 2005 was working for it full time. She bought a house in 2007 and met UNISON’s assistant branch …
Why resist verification?
Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC is an international businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster. For more information on his work, visit
“My daughter will be running this country in a few years’ time…she’ll be the prime minister soon.”
When Angela Rayner’s mother, Lynne, uttered these words during an ITV interview in 2020, even Rayner sniggered. But as the Bob Monkhouse quip has it, she’s not laughing now. The self-styled Queen of the North, who left school aged 16 with no qualifications and a baby on the way, really could follow in the footsteps of Churchill, Attlee, Thatcher and Blair.
This possibility will delight some voters and it will horrify others.
But who is Angela Rayner and is she suited to high office?
I first thought of writing her biography in the summer of 2022 after she gave an interview at the Edinburgh Festival. It was hard not to be interested in this direct politician who spoke so openly about her tough childhood and tricky path to Westminster.
By then, she was Labour’s deputy leader, and often courted controversy. Whether calling Tories “scum” or describing Jeremy Corbyn as “a thoroughly decent man” after the Equality and Human Rights Commission concluded anti-Semitism in Labour had thrived under his leadership, she had an undeniable presence.
Yet little independent research into her background had been done. In the autumn of 2023, when the Conservative government was on thin ice and Rayner had just been promoted to shadow deputy prime minister, I began work.
It was soon clear that what she lacked in academic credentials she made up for in ambition, though I found her a more brittle personality than some might assume.
She was born in Stockport in March 1980, the second of three siblings. Her childhood was materially deprived and emotionally fractured. Her mother suffered from bipolar disorder and Rayner helped to look after her; her father, Martyn, had no steady profession. The family settled on a crime-ridden housing estate and were supported by Giro cheques. Her grandmother, Jean, was a strong influence and Rayner was an enthusiastic Girl Guide. But she was bullied at school and by 13 was nightclubbing in Manchester and, in her words, “getting into scrapes”.
After giving birth she moved to her own council flat and made ends meet selling flowers in pubs, then at 18 became a private Home Help for six months. From 2000, she did the same job for Stockport Council. I remain amazed by her claim she was a Samaritan between the ages of 17 and 20.
She once said she had been a carer “for almost a decade”. In fact, she did the job for a maximum of five years. At Stockport council she joined the trade union UNISON and by 2005 was working for it full time. She bought a house in 2007 and met UNISON’s assistant branch …
Lord Ashcroft: Will she be Prime Minister soon? How we might yet see the reign of Rayner
Why resist verification?
Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC is an international businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster. For more information on his work, visit
“My daughter will be running this country in a few years’ time…she’ll be the prime minister soon.”
When Angela Rayner’s mother, Lynne, uttered these words during an ITV interview in 2020, even Rayner sniggered. But as the Bob Monkhouse quip has it, she’s not laughing now. The self-styled Queen of the North, who left school aged 16 with no qualifications and a baby on the way, really could follow in the footsteps of Churchill, Attlee, Thatcher and Blair.
This possibility will delight some voters and it will horrify others.
But who is Angela Rayner and is she suited to high office?
I first thought of writing her biography in the summer of 2022 after she gave an interview at the Edinburgh Festival. It was hard not to be interested in this direct politician who spoke so openly about her tough childhood and tricky path to Westminster.
By then, she was Labour’s deputy leader, and often courted controversy. Whether calling Tories “scum” or describing Jeremy Corbyn as “a thoroughly decent man” after the Equality and Human Rights Commission concluded anti-Semitism in Labour had thrived under his leadership, she had an undeniable presence.
Yet little independent research into her background had been done. In the autumn of 2023, when the Conservative government was on thin ice and Rayner had just been promoted to shadow deputy prime minister, I began work.
It was soon clear that what she lacked in academic credentials she made up for in ambition, though I found her a more brittle personality than some might assume.
She was born in Stockport in March 1980, the second of three siblings. Her childhood was materially deprived and emotionally fractured. Her mother suffered from bipolar disorder and Rayner helped to look after her; her father, Martyn, had no steady profession. The family settled on a crime-ridden housing estate and were supported by Giro cheques. Her grandmother, Jean, was a strong influence and Rayner was an enthusiastic Girl Guide. But she was bullied at school and by 13 was nightclubbing in Manchester and, in her words, “getting into scrapes”.
After giving birth she moved to her own council flat and made ends meet selling flowers in pubs, then at 18 became a private Home Help for six months. From 2000, she did the same job for Stockport Council. I remain amazed by her claim she was a Samaritan between the ages of 17 and 20.
She once said she had been a carer “for almost a decade”. In fact, she did the job for a maximum of five years. At Stockport council she joined the trade union UNISON and by 2005 was working for it full time. She bought a house in 2007 and met UNISON’s assistant branch …
