Will the ‘Red Queen’ turn into King of the North’s Number Two? Angela Rayner poised for dramatic return to Government if Andy Burnham turns into Prime Minister
Angela Rayner is poised for a dramatic return to Government if Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister – just months after she was forced to quit.
The so-called Red Queen is expected to regain her post of Deputy Prime Minister as well as a plum Cabinet job as rewards for backing Mr Burnham.
Sources said Ms Rayner had put aside her own ambitions to replace Sir Keir Starmer in favour of the Manchester mayor.
Her return would be a remarkable recovery given that her spectacular fall from grace came just four months ago.
She resigned as Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary in September after not paying enough tax on her new £800,000 flat in Hove.
The nature of her departure looked certain to end her career and dealt a huge blow to the increasingly beleaguered Prime Minister’s grip on his party.
So weakened was Sir Keir that The Mail on Sunday understands that he offered Ms Rayner Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s job in a future reshuffle – an offer she apparently refused.
And the Prime Minister has hailed Ms Rayner as ‘the best story of social mobility this country’s ever had’. She grew up on a Greater Manchester council estate with a mother who could not read or write.
Angela Rayner is poised for a dramatic return to Government if Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham announced he would run for Gorton and Denton MP on Saturday
Sir Keir has recently said he ‘absolutely’ wanted his ‘friend Angie’ back in Cabinet.
Ms Rayner, who regularly topped polls among Labour members, was yesterday seen arriving at Labour’s North West regional conference yesterday, clutching Manchester-born footballer Paul Lake’s autobiography.
She was repeatedly touted as a replacement for Sir Keir during his torrid first year as Prime Minister. And her popularity has not dwindled while she has been on the backbenches.
Westminster insiders say ‘Angie’ is also the most popular senior figure among MPs.
She has repeatedly vowed publicly that she does not want the top job, saying: ‘It will age me by ten years within six months.’ But sources say that hasn’t stopped Ms Rayner’s allies preparing for a tilt at the top job.
In December, the MoS reported that she had ‘done a deal’ to be Mr Burnham’s running mate in any potential leadership bid in return for a prized post.
Ms Rayner was the first senior figure to support Mr Burnham’s bid to stand again as an MP – beating other key allies such as Lucy Powell, her successor as deputy party leader.
