Personal Statement

Angela Rayner Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd October 2025 Commons Chamber

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

With your permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a personal statement.

When I made my maiden speech over a decade ago, I said that it was the honour of my life to represent Ashton-under-Lyne in this House. Alongside serving in this historic Labour Government, it is still the honour of my life. I promised then to bring determination, commitment and my socialist values to this House while representing my constituents, and I intend to continue doing so. My title may have changed, but the strength and character of the people of my constituency have not.

First, let me address the circumstances under which I left office. The last few weeks have been incredibly tough on my family, with my personal life so much in the public eye. All of us in public life know all too well the toll that the intense scrutiny we face takes on our loved ones, but I have always believed in the highest standards of transparency and accountability—that is what the public expect, and it is the price we pay for the privilege of service. That is why I referred myself to the independent adviser and gave him access to all the information he needed.

As I set out then, parents of a disabled child with a trust who divorce and seek different properties face a complex tax position. If there is one good thing that can come out of this, I hope that other families in that situation may now be aware of that and avoid getting into the position I am now in. I am of course corresponding with HM Revenue and Customs, and it has my full co-operation. There is no excuse not to pay taxes owed, and I will do so. This was an honestly made mistake, but when you make a mistake, you take responsibility.

To serve at the highest level of Government was a privilege—not for the title or the office, but for the chance to change the lives of the people I grew up with and live alongside. Every day, I worked to serve those same working-class communities; in every decision that I made, I thought of them. I know the power of politics to change lives, because it changed my own. The last Labour Government gave me the foundation to build a better life for me and my young son: a council house to support me, Sure Start to help me raise my kids, and the security of a minimum wage. A good job and a decent, secure home is not too much to ask, but for too many it is out of reach. That is what I was determined to change, for the people who all of us on these Benches are fighting for and must keep fighting for.

That is why, despite the fierce criticism and the relentless lobbying from vested interests, I am so proud that, within weeks, our landmark Employment Rights Bill will become law. It is a game changer for millions stuck in insecure and low-paid work. It will give them the dignity and security that they deserve. There are those who say we cannot afford to deliver new rights for working people; I say we cannot afford not to deliver them. Labour is at its best when we are bold, and I have been so proud to work alongside some of the trade unionists who nurtured and supported me to deliver the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation. This is a personal statement, but the trade union movement taught me that it is not about yourself; it is about us. It is about who we are here for, and everything that I have done has been an endeavour for us—for our people, who elected us and who we serve.

As Secretary of State for Housing, it was my solemn duty to serve the Grenfell Tower inquiry. It is difficult to think of a more humbling experience—a stark reminder of what happens when we forget who we are in this place to serve. It has been a privilege to work on behalf of those families, and it is why this Government will pass a duty of candour. Make no mistake: the Hillsborough law is for the 97 and their families, but it is also for the sub-postmasters who endured the Horizon scandal, the victims of infected blood, and those who died or whose lives were changed forever in the Grenfell Tower fire. It is a line in the sand that says that the public will always come first.

I am also incredibly proud that this Labour Government provided the biggest investment in social and affordable housing in a generation. It was the foundation of a decent home that gave me the security to build my life on; now we must provide a safe and decent home to millions of people across this country. When our Renters’ Rights Bill returns to the House this afternoon, we will give a generation of renters the protections, security and rights that they deserve.

From votes at 16 to historic investment in homelessness prevention, from neighbourhood renewal to fair funding for the whole country and putting power back where it belongs, in the hands of working people everywhere, I was proud to lead, but we achieved together, with my hon. Friends on these Benches and the support of our entire movement—the lifeblood of this Labour Government.

When I think back on how far I have come, I remember when at age 16, I was pregnant with my child, needing a job and a home. People wrote me off, assumed that I would be on benefits for the whole of my life, but I wanted to prove them wrong. I have carried that with me, whether on the Back Benches, at the Dispatch Box, or representing this country abroad. The support and advice of so many friends and colleagues has kept me going.

I want to give a special mention to my excellent ministerial and parliamentary team, my hon. Friends the Members for Greenwich and Woolwich (Matthew Pennycook), for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton (Jim McMahon), for Nottingham North and Kimberley (Alex Norris), for Wellingborough and Rushden (Gen Kitchen), for Huddersfield (Harpreet Uppal) and for Gateshead Central and Whickham (Mark Ferguson); my noble Friends Lord Khan and Baroness Taylor; my superb parliamentary and political staff; and the many excellent civil servants. I want to say a special thank you to many of my constituents and the public who have made contact with me. I offer my successor and his new colleagues my congratulations and, of course, my support. I am fortunate to count so many Members as not just honourable Friends but actual friends.

I will finish by saying that in each generation it has fallen to a Labour Government to strengthen the hand of working people. In 1945, it was maternity pay, the NHS and homes for heroes out of the ruins of war; in the 1970s, it was Barbara Castle and the fight for equal pay; and in the 1990s, it was the national minimum wage. Despite the opposition, because of the work of this Labour Government, we have the opportunity to write a new chapter of justice and fairness for working people.

As tough as politics can be, it is nothing—nothing—compared to what thousands of my constituents and many more across this country face every single day. Whether we sit on the Back Benches or on the Front Bench, elected office is not about us. It is about our chance to change the lives of others. From wherever I sit on these Benches, I will fight with everything I have to do exactly that. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”]