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Female representation in politics is something slowly increasing in the UK. As of 2022, the House of Commons has 225 female MPs out of the 650 chairs available in Parliament. Each member represents a varying amount of agendas and changes for their respected constituencies. With the rise in female political power, we at Go Inspire reached out to many members of the UK parliament in London and across England. The opportunity to speak to Angela Rayner, who holds such an impactful role in government, was extremely exciting.
Angela Rayner is a member of parliament for Ashton-under-Lyne and a Labour representative. She also undertakes the roles of Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work, and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.
GI: Angela Rayner’s early life does not fit the mould of Eton and Oxford educated gentlemen having left state school at 16. Does she feel that this type of representation is important in politics? Working class MPs are hard to come by.
AR: When I visit schools in my constituency and I talk to pupils, I always stress to them that they are unique and that is their strength. My advice to them is don’t listen when people say ‘know your place’. I was certain opportunities would be unavailable to me when I left school with no qualifications and a baby but I refused to listen. I represent a working-class area and I know my constituents appreciate the person that represents them understanding them. I think my life experience enables me to be a better MP as I have experienced the struggles that people come to me for help with. I wasn’t handed anything on a plate, I have worked hard for everything I’ve achieved.
GI: What inspired her to get into politics?
AR: Politics wasn’t something I was particularly interested in until I got involved with the trade union movement. I was working as a home help and my colleagues and I were unhappy with new conditions that were being forced onto us at work so we organised and refused to accept them. I worked my way up through the ranks at UNISON and became North West convener and realised where my true strengths lie. I found out I was pretty good at persuading people to listen to me.
GI: Being a woman in politics comes with its own set of problems, especially since the most well-known female politicians in British history have often been staunchly conservative (Thatcher, Liz Truss, Priti Patel). Have you encountered any issues being a woman in politics as part of the Labour party?
AR: The Labour Party has had its own important women politicians from the groundbreaking Barbara Castle to Margaret Beckett and Harriet Harman, both of whom were Deputy Leaders of the Labour Party before me. I’m really proud that more than half of Labour MPs are now women. There are still challenges for women in politics more generally as my own experience shows, but there are also fantastic organisations like the Labour Women’s Network that encourage participation.
GI: Tell us a little bit about your role as the Shadow Chancellor to the Duchy of Lancaster, what does that involve and how do you go about it?
AR: It’s quite an old-fashioned title! This means that I am responsible for holding the Government to account for the Cabinet Office, which includes the civil service, government contracts and a whole host of other areas including sleaze and waste. It involves quite a lot of persistence to uncover information, asking the right questions and being persistent.
GI: What was your most challenging role? Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Shadow First Secretary of State, and Chair of the Labour Party.
AR: I’ve enjoyed each of these roles and they all come with different challenges. There has been a lot to learn to make sure I do the best job I can no matter which hat I am wearing. Being elected Deputy Leader at the start of the pandemic was a strange experience. We had had a frantic time during the campaign, meeting so many people and then when it was time for the results, it was just me and a video link. But I was incredibly proud to have been given such an honour. Doing PMQs is also a challenging but incredibly exciting experience.
Across all these roles what is most challenging though is being in Opposition. It’s really hard to see so many issues and injustices, knowing that you are not in power to change things.
GI: What are the biggest problems in our country and what kind of changes do you hope to see? This can also include within the Labour Party.
AR: The biggest challenge our country faces right now is tackling the cost of living crisis, and that’s our immediate focus - but we also need to secure a Labour Government with both a vision and a plan for the future. Britain deserves better.
GI: What would you say to a woman who is considering getting into politics but put off by the culture that we see from the outside? For example, the belligerent shouting in the House of Commons, the tone policing that women often face etc.
AR: I certainly don’t want the experiences I’ve had to put anyone from a background like mine off. I would love to see more women getting involved. It sometimes feels like we don’t start on an even footing. When a man in a suit walks into a room, they are often automatically respected and know people will listen to them. When I walk into a room, I have to work twice as hard just to prove I have the right to be there. I’m no shrinking violet but I am often aware that women, and especially women from backgrounds like mine, have to ‘earn’ their place at the table despite the fact that our lived experience means we’re often much better equipped to tackle the issues that matter.
GI: Recently in the House of Commons, Angela Rayner lamented that the cost of living crisis is being overshadowed by chat about Downing Street scandals.
AR: Boris Johnson knew about the parties at Downing Street and he was at some of them. He could have told the truth and done the decent thing many months ago but instead he’s been dragging this out and distracted from tackling the cost of living crisis people facing.
GI: Our voter turnout in the UK has been infamously divided by age. Young people are most likely to vote for Labour compared to their older counterparts, and this disparity is even more extreme among female voters. Is Labour more in the interest of younger people than older?
AR: The Labour Party is made up of lots of perspectives. At our core, we believe in fairness and equality, be that for women, people with disabilities, gay people or people from BAME backgrounds. I think young people who are maybe voting for the first time see that our vision for making our country the best place to get on and grow old is a really positive one where they can thrive and make a decent life for themselves and their family.
GI: Do you consider yourself a feminist?
AR: I’d never really considered myself a feminist with a capital ‘F’ but some of my own experiences and people who have contacted me about theirs show the barriers, challenges and different treatment women still face. There are certainly plenty of women that I admire. I will tell anyone who will listen to hunt down former Australian PM Julia Gillard’s speech on misogyny from 2012. It was voted the most unforgettable moment if Australian TV history and it’s not hard to see why. I am also hugely inspired by my fellow women frontbench MPs and so proud to see so many women in positions of power within the Labour Party.
GI: UK politics is very Westminster/South of England based, offering little representation for the interests of northerners and the devolved parliaments. How do you serve your constituents in the North? Is that a different picture to what an MP might do in the South?
AR: It’s a real eye-opener being in Westminster to represent constituents and every decision I make is done with them in mind. They elected me to serve them and that is the most important thing. You will usually find me in my constituency on Fridays where I hold advice surgeries for residents and visit local schools -my favourite bit of the job - as well as groups and community organisations.
GI: What are the most pressing issues that the Labour Party is up against?
AR: The biggest challenge and the one we are working towards is getting a Labour Government elected at Westminster. Labour makes a difference for people when we’re in power.
GI: What is your best advice to anyone feeling disenchanted by the thread of scandals and other problems that we have faced throughout the pandemic, most recently this sharp hike in energy bills? Do you see room for optimism whereas many of the British people feel unheard?
AR: I always see room for optimism. I’m inspired by the passion, commitment and determination of people who fight for and achieve change every day. There is no doubt that these are really challenging times and it can be tough, but that’s also why it matters. The stakes are high because it’s people’s lives and life chances we’re talking about, and so representation really matters, hearing those other voices really matters now more than ever.
We would like to thank Angela and her team for this interview - it was an honour to visit the House of Commons to do this shoot.
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