Angela Rayner poses for British Vogue in an outfit worth £3,570

Labour deputy tells magazine that she has ‘earnt her place' in Westminster but that some Tory MPs cannot empathise with less wealthy voters

Angela Rayner said: 'I get compliments but a huge amount of abuse' Credit: TOBY COULSON/See the full feature in the December issue of British Vogue, available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday 21 November

Angela Rayner has told Vogue magazine she has “earnt her place” in Westminster as she wore an outfit worth £3,570.

The deputy Labour leader claimed she has been subject to classism throughout her time as an MP and that some Tory politicians cannot empathise with the problems facing less wealthy voters.

She posed in a photoshoot for the fashion magazine wearing a £1,995 oversized coat and £880 pink shirt, both from the independent label Emilia Wickstead, paired with Jimmy Choo calf leather shoes worth £695.

A source close to the frontbencher confirmed the clothes are not her own and were just borrowed for the Vogue feature.

Ms Rayner recalled a row last year with Dominic Raab, during his time as deputy prime minister, in which he made a dig at her attendance at the Glyndebourne opera festival, calling it “champagne socialism”.

“It frustrates me – it’s not just what [Raab] thinks of me, but people like me,” she said. “How can you be in the second-highest position and think that way about half the electorate? How can you understand the challenges they face?

“I didn’t go to Eton. People don’t expect me to be in the room. I’ve always had to earn my place.”

Angela Rayner in Vogue Credit: TOBY COULSON

Noting she had been called “thick as mince” on social media and compared to Vicky Pollard – a caricature of a “chav” in the comedy series Little Britain – Ms Rayner added: “My team dread it when I’ve been on television or PMQs.

“I get compliments but a huge amount of abuse. It’s become part of the job.”

Ms Rayner also insisted her working relationship with Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, had improved over the years after a number of reported disagreements between the pair, including his alleged attempts to demote her during 2021 only for her to end up with a promotion.

“I think we complement each other because we’re very different,” she said. “If I was just ‘yes, everything you say is wonderful’, you wouldn’t get feedback. Same with him to me.

“Our leadership has evolved, like any team when you’re thrown together. Whatever the office politics is like... We understand each other now.”

See the full feature in the December issue of British Vogue, available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday Nov 21.

British Vogue December 2023