Tributes to Her Late Majesty The Queen

Angela Rayner Excerpts

Friday 9th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Angela Rayner (Ashton-under-Lyne) (Lab)]

I thank colleagues across the House for their moving words today. Like other Members, I have found the outpouring of affection for our Queen, both from our shores and across the world, deeply heartwarming. I hope the royal family find solace in that over the coming days and weeks.

I have always taken great inspiration from our Queen. She was a woman who found herself in a position of leadership at such a young age; a woman who threw herself into service as not just the most recognisable, but the most admired of global leaders; a woman who steered us through loved times of joy and times of darkness, and who always drew on her own experience and inner strength to help those who most needed it. I am in awe of the way she took on that unimaginable responsibility. She got on with the job, she never stopped, and she has set an example for us all.

One of the proudest moments of my life and for my family was when I was sworn into the Privy Council; these kinds of things do not happen to a girl like me. It was surreal to meet Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II herself via Zoom. She could put anyone at ease, adapting to the challenges, the circumstances and the change. Most of all, though, she was a loving grandmother. As a grandmother myself, I know and understand the complete love that she had for her family. Her children and her grandchildren were the centre of her life, and I know the whole House shares in both their pain and their pride. To us, she was our Queen, our national figurehead, and the greatest and longest serving monarch in British history. To them, she was also Granny. The loss of such a loving presence will be heartbreaking and my heart goes out to them.

Her Majesty the late Queen was a constant figure of strength, integrity and service throughout our lives. She was an inspiration to women across the world, with complete devotion to her duty, her family and her country. She set an example of leadership for women everywhere; the outpouring of condolences from leaders across the world is testament to that. More recently, we will never forget how she guided us through the despair and loneliness of the pandemic. Her values of public service and dignity never wavered.

It is appropriate today that I speak from the Back Benches, because our Queen was greatly loved and admired by the people of my constituency. She visited Greater Manchester many times and was always welcomed with love by the local community. She was last in Manchester a year ago to visit “Coronation Street”, where the cast greeted her at the Rovers Return pub to celebrate the show’s 60th anniversary. It is just three months since the streets of Ashton, Droylsden and Failsworth were decked with Union Jack flags as we came together to celebrate the platinum jubilee. Our local papers were proud and our local community was proud. She is now gone, but she will be forever missed and always in our hearts. May she rest in peace. God save the King.