New Deputy Prime Minister Rayner re-elected in Ashton-under-Lyne

TAMESIDE is now well represented at the heart of the newly-formed Government, boasting the new Deputy Prime Minister.

Angela Rayner, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, was re-elected for a fourth term as the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne with 44 per cent of the vote. She has also been appointed as the Secretary of State for levelling up, housing and communities.

She polled 15,575 votes, with an increased majority of 6,791, but her vote share was down 3.6 per cent on the last election in 2019.

The rise of Reform UK was also reflected in the final outcome, with the party’s candidate Robert Barrowcliffe coming second with 8,784 votes.

Lizzie Hacking finished third for the Conservatives with 4,375 votes, followed by Aroma Hassan with 2,835 votes for the Workers Party of Britain – who had launched their campaign in the constituency and made it a key target seat.

It was a record-breaking night nationally for the Liberal Democrats, with 71 MPs elected, but their candidate Dominic Hardwick received the fewest votes, with just 1,411 in a turnout of 50.14% overall – down from 56.8% in 2019 and the lowest in the constituency since 2001.

Following boundary changes, the constituency gained the Audenshaw and Dukinfield wards from the abolished constituency of Denton and Reddish and lost the two Failsworth wards to Manchester Central.

As the result was declared at around 2.45am on Friday morning (July 5), Ms Rayner received a hostile reception from supporters of rival parties as she stepped on stage through a side entrance, with a number of police officers also present at Dukinfield Town Hall.

In a victory speech on stage lasting around four minutes, the 44-year-old firstly thanked the returning officer and her team, the police and public servants, and the other candidates before turning to those closest to her.

“I would also like to say a few words of thanks to my family, my friends, the whole Labour team and all those who have supported me, especially my agent Ged Cooney,” she said. “You have been such a source of strength to me, not just over the last weeks but throughout my political life.

“You’ve stood by me, you’ve had my back and now I hope to do you proud in a Labour government.”

Having first been elected in 2015, Ms Rayner vowed to never take the support of Ashton-under-Lyne for granted.

“I would like to thank the people of Ashton-under-Lyne who have elected and re-elected me as your Member of Parliament these last nine years. From the first day you placed your trust in me, it’s been a great privilege to represent you in Parliament. I’m proud to have support right across our community but I will never take it for granted.”

Ms Rayner’s re-election was part of a landslide victory for the Labour Party across the country, ending 14 years of Conservative rule.

As one of the senior figures now entering Downing Street, the incoming Deputy PM paid tribute to parents and small businesses in particular as she hailed her party’s victory as “our chance to turn the page and start a new chapter”.

Addressing the floor, she said: “Let me say to all of those parents doing the most important job there is in raising the next generation, to the small businesses who tirelessly work every day in the engine room of our economy, to the working people who are the bedrock of our country, there is no greater honour than to serve you.

“Throughout my life, I have faced challenges but I have also seen the power that comes from our community – 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 the trade unionists I stood alongside, from all of them I learned that by working together and never taking no for an answer we can make change and make a difference.

“As they helped me when I needed it, I am now humbled to have the opportunity to make the difference for others because to represent this constituency is a privilege but it is also a duty – one that I intend to fulfill.

“It’s a vote for change, it’s a vote to end division and to bring our country together, to replace self-service with public service, to take what is broken and begin to rebuild it, and to restore the belief to those who have had hope taken away. It’s with a real sense of pride that together we have changed the Labour Party to offer that unity of purpose, that vision of renewal that our country so desperately needs.

“Today it’s our chance to turn the page and start a new chapter, to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and to make work pay, to give working people the new deal we deserve and to provide homes that we need, to rebuild the public services on which we rely and to ensure that every community across our country shares in our national success. I am proud of Ashton-under-Lyne, I am proud of Britain, a great country of great people and I am proud to serve you all. Thank you.”