Angela Rayner
Housing Secretary since July 2024, retained by PM Burnham; was Deputy PM under Starmer.
Rayner kept the Housing brief when Andy Burnham finished naming his top team on 23 July 2026, the payoff for having backed him early in May's leadership fight.
Last refreshed: 24 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Will Rayner run for the Labour leadership if the NEC blocks Andy Burnham?
Timeline for Angela Rayner
Mentioned in: Lennon accuses her party of misogyny
UK Local Elections 2026Burnham builds a cabinet of his own
UK Local Elections 2026Cleared by HMRC on 14 May with no fine over stamp duty affair; told Guardian she is ready to play her part
UK Local Elections 2026: Labour NEC clears Burnham for Makerfield runMentioned in: Josh Simons quits Makerfield for Burnham
UK Local Elections 2026Cleared by HMRC over stamp-duty settlement; reported backing Burnham but will run herself if he cannot stand
UK Local Elections 2026: 96 v 103: PLP split, no triggerBackground
Angela Rayner served as Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of state for Housing, Communities and Local Government under Keir Starmer from Labour's landslide victory in July 2024. She entered politics as a trade union organiser with UNISON before winning Ashton-under-Lyne in the 2015 general election, served as Shadow Education Secretary under Jeremy Corbyn, and became Labour Deputy Leader in April 2020. As Housing Secretary she championed the Renters' Rights Act, planning reform, and devolution deals for English mayors.
On 14 May 2026 HMRC closed its investigation into her stamp-duty affairs relating to the sale of her former council house, finding no evidence of deliberate wrongdoing. That clearance freed her, days later, to move early on the leadership question: she declared for Andy Burnham while the party was still split, and made clear she would enter the race herself had the National Executive Committee blocked his PATH, a threat with real force given her seniority and the NEC's arithmetic.
Her bet on Burnham paid off directly: he confirmed her as Housing Secretary once his top team was settled on 23 July 2026, the one senior brief she has now held under two different Labour prime ministers.