Back to school for Ange

DEPUTY PM RETURNS TO HOME PATCH TO TELL SIXTH FORMERS OF MEETING THE KING... AND HOW THEY CAN LIVE THEIR DREAMS

- GEORGE LYTHGOE

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.

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 King Charles III.

Starting out with a quick anecdote on rubbing shoulders with royalty, Ms Rayner said: "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 short and sweet with her quips being met with laughter from the students from across the Stamford Park Trust.