The Mancunian Way: 'Our Ange'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Within a few hours her extraordinary journey to high office would be complete. But stood on the stage at Dukinfield town hall in the early hours of Friday, Angela Rayner was keen to look back on where it all started - the Bridgehall estate in Stockport. "Throughout my life, I have faced challenges, but I've also seen the power that comes from our community," Rayner said. "The people on Bridgehall estate who have always known me as 'Our Ange'. “The teachers who have had faith in me.

The carers who I worked alongside and trade unionists I stood alongside. From all of them, I learnt that by working together and never taking no for an answer, we can make change and make a difference.” Built in the 1930s, Bridgehall is one of the most deprived areas in Stockport.

According to a 2018 public health report, the area performs significantly worse than the national average on unemployment, income deprivation, child poverty and child development, while life expectancy is shorter than the national average.

Rayner, born Angela Bowen, left school with no qualifications aged 16, when she was pregnant with her first son. She says she was told she would 'never amount to anything'.