Angela Raynor being talked about as possible leader? Surely not.

[Ozgirl76]

I get the point of Raynor - she’s the modern Prescott, the “Everyman”, the one who the trad Labour voters might identify with, with the vaping, clubbing and tax evasion.

But as a leader on the world stage? Have we learnt nothing from Boris? Having a deeply unserious leader is surely not what the U.K. needs now, in this time of global turmoil?

Honestly if she becomes leader the U.K. will be an absolute laughing stock.

I'm still waiting for an explanation of the accusation that she believes in apartheid. I'm a Labour Party member and am currently undecided who I'd vote for.I would really know if this is based on anything real or (most likely) rubbish.

Bonkers!

And sadly, however well she's done in politics in spite of her background, does not make her suitable for the world stage right now. They'll either eat her alive or ignore her altogether.

And that's nothing to do with her sex

I don't trust her judgement at all. I remember her saying "she'd keep a place warm on the bench" for a woman's officer who turned out to have allegations of sex offences against him.

Margaret Thatcher was a Northerner, she got a scholarship to a Grammar school, where by all accounts she worked hard to succeed. She was also the longest serving PM of the 20th century. She was also a woman!

So your insistence that it's because Angela is a woman and northern is rubbish.

You’re so right re Starmer’s waah I didn’t know he lied to me, pathetic.

Yes. She'd make a brilliant union leader.

But that's not enough

Can you imagine her meeting with Trump? Or Putin? Or the leaders of the G7?

No.

She would be a car crash and that is nothing to do with her background, sex or where she is from.
She has no credibility and if she does get to be PM then I can only hope that is the end of labour for a good number of years.

If Rayner gets in then I am putting most of my salary in pension and claiming UC .

I worked out I will be 1k worse off a month but that’s doable and finally will be able to super boost my pension by 2-3k a month.

I don’t do it because I dont think it’s in the spirit. She absolutely fucking would have.

I do think you have to be well educated and have done something successful outside politics such as run a business or be in a profession. There's a wealth of experience that comes with that that can benefit the whole country, not just be able to empathise with those on benefits. I find her hugely impressive to have got where she is today but thats not enough for PM.

Just saying to my husband this morning - if she does PMQs will be entertaining - Kemi will run rings around her.

Awful women.

Her enthusiasm for taxing others combined with her enthusiasm for not paying tax herself could be a bit of an issue. I realise this is a fairly common dilemma for people on the left, but they usually wait until after they have left politics before showing their true colours.

But at the same time isn’t there at least a tiny part of you that’s sick of ‘polished’ politicians, the droves of the Eton educated men of the recent and not so recent past?

I’m not saying Raynor is the one, but I do think some sections of society discount working class, northerners off the bat and it’s probably one of the last acceptable / ignored areas of conscious and unconscious bias.

We (plural) probably expect, say a barrister or politician, to talk or look a certain way… and like anything that can lead to exclusion

Thatcher was from Grantham. That's in the Midlands, not the North.

And I wouldn't describe her as "working class" - her upbringing was more on the lower end of middle class, and she presented in a very middle class manner. As does Keir Starmer, for all of the focus on his dad being a tool maker.

Raynor still presents as working class, and that's what seems to bother people.

John Major left school at 16 with minimal qualifications. I don't think it meant that he was "eaten alive" on the world stage.

I have no particular axe to grind here. I'm southern, middle class and Oxbridge educated, so Angela doesn't particularly represent me. I'm just saying what I see - that her background is held against her.

I suspect he's bidding his time.

That's really the first thing you think of? Not the dishonesty?

On the one hand I think that she shouldn't even be getting a sniff of it until her tax matters are cleared up but on the other I would absolutely love it if this crass woman succeeded.

In no time at all, the Labour Party-or at least this period of its government-would be finished.

Angela Raynor is a crass woman who hams up her working class-she puts me in mind of the John Cleese sketch where three men are vying to be the most unfortunate:

"I grew up in a cardboard box."
"Eeeh, you was lucky, I grew up in the gutter."

She over eggs it-loads of us are working class.

In addition, loads of us are working class and are educated. She had the chance of being educated or is she trying to say there were no schools "UP North for Likes of Us".

So, what she had a baby. Big deal-so did many of us at her age.

It's the boasting about being uneducated that is appalling. She is actually proud of it.

And that he hawing voice-a donkey with laryngitis couldn't be worse. Again, hammed up.

No, on balance, she would be great for the country as it would get them out quicker than a rat up a drain.

Ange for PM!

As opposed to personal integrity!? 🙄

Starmer ticks those boxes..... a PM needs above all else, leadership skills...

The only people pushing Rayner as a replacement is the 'right wing media, publishing stuff that she simply hasn't said or done.

She will almost certainly be fined by HMRC, thats what they'd do for anyone else who, for whatever reason, avoided 40k in stamp duty.

So for that reason alone, she cannot be considered as a future leader/PM.

I'd love to see Angela Raynor in a meeting with Trump it would be absolutely gold !!!

allegations about her tax affairs that haven't yet been proven.

When Rayner bought the flat in Hove, she declared that it was the only property she owned, meaning £30,000 of stamp duty was paid, rather than the £70,000 due if it is a second home.

That wasn't true & on 3 September 2025, Rayner admitted she had underpaid stamp duty on the Hove property.

Well, we can all see that having a great education and extreme wealth has stopped all those people ever being involved in any sort of scandal whatsoever......

I think your post shows that it’s not her background that is held against her - it’s her ability to present herself and her arguments and represent the country, that’s in question.

John Majors father was a circus performer - much was made of his background at the time but he could represent himself and his country well.

I think Angela Rayners ability to climb out of that kind of childhood has been inspirational, but either she can’t, doesn’t think it’s important enough or hasn’t bothered to work on presentation skills. That is key for a leader.

Yes Starmer is bad too. I expected you would say that. But it doesn't mean we need to knee jerk to the opposite extreme. Reform arr right in saying you need a government of people that have reached decent levels of experience outside politics. And are good at politics (unlike starmer but like Angela r)

Thanks, but I'll await the outcome of the HMRC investigation which is looking into all of the relevant facts.

They may well fine her, and if they do, then that will be the end of her leadership aspirations. But I'm not going to judge before the investigation is concluded because I don't have access to all of the relevant evidence.

It doesn't matter whether you like her or not. Even if she takes the labour leadership, she won't remain as PM. She's northern, working class and a woman.

We're mainly a nation of racist, sexist, bigots, so we kinda get what we deserve on that front.

Which is minly posh white men, who are absolutely worse than dire, and break every rule going, but they went to debating club at posh school, so they know how to do PMQs.

And yes, I know Maggie Thatcher was a woman etc. She made herself more terrible than the men so she could be part of their awful club.