“We need a sustainable system of student finance that promotes opportunity, encourages aspiration, increases social mobility and is governed by fairness. But all the Tories can offer is unsustainable, mounting debt, punishing students for wanting an education. And discouraging thousands of young people from climbing the ladder to a better life.”

British politician and trade unionist

Angela Rayner is a British politician and trade unionist. Born in 1980, she has been the Member of Parliament for Ashton-under-Lyne since 2015. She is known for her senior roles in the Labour Party and in government, including Deputy Leader of the party and Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Rayner has served as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, first from 2024 to 2025 and again from 2026. She is described as a socialist and as part of Labour's soft left, placing her firmly within the party's moderate left tradition.