Angela Rayner talks 'chip on shoulder' and meeting with King Charles III on her return to Ashton

Angela Rayner has been rubbing shoulders with the elite in her first week in government, but was brought back to her roots as soon as she stepped foot into Ashton again.

The new Deputy Prime Minister walked into a packed lecture hall in Ashton Sixth Form College to face a grilling from the very students she hopes ‘will feel part of the change’ she hopes to bring. Students heard about the nasty surprises that were waiting for her in Whitehall, her start to life in politics and how she hopes to deliver the 'change' the Labour Party have repeatedly called for.

The Ashton-under-Lyne MP briefly outlined her role as Keir Starmer’s number two and being the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

READ MORE: Angela Rayner makes first official visit as deputy Prime Minister - to Greater Manchester

She joked that if “anything were to happen to Keir, touch wood, then I’d be running the country”.

Ms Rayner described how in her first week in power she’s already made around 80 decisions, going through numerous security briefings (which the students were not allowed to be privy to) and two meetings with his majesty King Charles III.

Starting out with a quick anecdote on brushing shoulders with royalty, Ms Rayner regaled: “I went to see the king to get the royal seal for my department as part of the government. But what I didn’t know was, when the next day I changed the name of that department, I had to go back to the king again to do it all over again.

“The king said ‘hmm, back again so soon’.”

She added that places like Ashton are set to benefit under the new government and how she has to ‘bring in millions of new homes across the country’ and ‘making communities feel supported’. Her opening statement was