Angela Rayner was recently elected to be the new deputy leader of the Labour Party. She wasn’t my choice – not even my second choice – but on reflection, she’s a good choice and I’m not unhappy with the result even slightly. Rayner is definitely qualified for the job, and is also an inspirational figure – a senior Labour politician that actually comes from hardship.

Born in 1980, Rayner left school with zero qualifications in at age 16. This is already an impressive background to her position – but she was also pregnant. Angela Rayner was a teenage mother, with no qualifications to her name, and yet rose amongst the ranks to be deputy Labour Leader.

She would later study at college, and qualify to be a Care Worker – which is certainly more down to earth than the lawyers and bankers that litter the Conservative Party (and the privileged backgrounds of a surprising amount of Labour MPs – Jeremy Corbyn himself had a very posh education). She would later be elected a trade union representative.

In 2015, Rayner ran successfully to be the Member of Parliament for Ashton-under-Lyne, and was quickly labelled as “soft left”, something she later described herself as. She served in many Shadow positions, such as Pensions and Education, so her qualification is surely not in dispute.

While many called for her to run as leader herself during the recent campaign, she elected instead to support her former flatmate Rebecca along-Bailey. The two had lived together in London when starting out as MPs, and have remained good friends since.

I firmly believe Rayner was a brilliant pick for deputy leader, and I hope she one day rises to Leader of the Opposition. She’s an inspiration for teenage mothers and those who didn’t do well in school, she’s qualified for the job and I hope she’s a future Prime Minister.