Angela Rayner drops hint about future in Labour Party

Ashton-under-Lyne MP Angela Rayner dropped a major hint about her future in the Labour Party while speaking at a conference.

She pledged that the next Labour leader will be a woman while speaking at an event with The Global Institute for Women’s leadership, at King’s College London on Wednesday, June 21st.

Ms Rayner said she’d ‘never say never’ when asked if she would like to one day become leader of the Labour Party.

The mum-of-three, who was born and raised on a council estate in Stockport, spoke of the challenges and barriers many women who enter politics face.

When the deputy leader was asked why her party had never seen a female leader, Rayner said she would push to ensure the next person to take over from Sir Keir Starmer is a woman.

Rayner said: “I do think we will get a woman leader. The talent is there. Whether it’s me or someone else, I will push to make sure there is a female leader after Keir Starmer.”

On whether she would consider taking over the reins herself, she replied: “I’ll never say never. With Boris Johnson the bar is so low that imposter syndrome has completely evaporated for me.

“I’d like to aim a bit higher than that but it did prove anyone can be prime minister.

“The most important thing for me is being in the place I’ll make the most difference and recognising what is right for you.

“Who knows. If I think I can do it and I think I’m the right person for the country at the time I will do it.”

Speaking to former Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, Rayner talked about some of the ‘cultural’ barriers many women have faced, preventing them from becoming successful in politics.

“I don’t know why we’ve not had a female leader yet,” she said. “Maybe part of the problem is a culture problem. You have to surrender so much of your life. 

“Women in the 21st century want to have it all, but the truth is I’ve been absent from my sons’ lives.

“Ironically, I felt like a better mum when I was 16. I am away four days a week and my children are in Manchester. Until we make Parliament more friendly in terms of work-life balance, we’ll have the same problem.”

Though Rayner went on to tell the event that she did feel proud of the gender diversity that exists within her party.

She also said she was confident that having more female politicians in the shadow cabinet would lead to better election results.

She added: “ Having that diverse team is the number one thing Labour has done to represent women.

“We’ve got the likes of Harriet Harman and Yvette Cooper who have been pushing on this for years.

“We will have better policies and we will win as a result of being more diverse.”