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Angela Rayner is set to become the UK’s deputy prime minister if Labour wins the next general election. 

With Labour’s annual conference starting this weekend, here’s what you need to know about the party’s deputy leader – from her early life and career in politics to the abuse and controversy she has faced.

Early life and career

Born in Stockport in 1980, Ms Rayner was brought up on a council estate. She left school at 16 with no qualifications and pregnant with her first son.

She says she was told she would “never amount to anything”.

“When I was young, we didn’t have books because my mother couldn’t read or write,” Ms Rayner said in an interview with the Financial Times.

She told the newspaper she could easily have been taken into care and admitted she felt “resentment” because, as a child, she had to look after her mother, who had bipolar disorder.

After giving birth, Ms Rayner went to college part-time, studying British sign language and social care.

Soon after becoming a care worker for the local council, she was put forward as a union rep.

Angela Rayner in 2017

“I was mouthy and I would take no messing from management,” Ms Rayner said.

From there, she became a full-time union official and rose through the ranks to become Unison’s convenor in the North West, representing 200,000 workers.

Ms Rayner married Unison official Mark Rayner in 2010. The couple separated in 2020.

She has three sons and in 2017, she became a grandmother.

Life in politics

Angela Rayner on the Labour frontbench with Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott in 2017
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Angela Rayner on the Labour frontbench with Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott in 2017

Ms Rayner entered parliament In 2015, when she became the first woman MP in the 180-year history of her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency.

She went on to hold the position of shadow pensions minister, before becoming a member of the shadow cabinet, holding the education and women and equalities briefs.

She was elected as deputy leader of the Labour Party in 2020 but was sacked as party chair following poor results in the English local elections.

But she pushed back against Keir Starmer’s attempts to demote her and was eventually given a role as shadow minister for the cabinet office, as well as a newly created post as shadow secretary for the future of work.

In September 2023, she was appointed shadow levelling up secretary in a reshuffle aimed at putting the “strongest possible players on the pitch” ahead of the next election.

Read more:
Rayner puts boot into Labour’s critics

Angela Rayner makes ‘cast iron commitment’ on workers’ rights

‘Principles would not have fed me’

Ms Rayner is known for being on the left of the Labour Party and has described herself as a socialist “but not a Corbynite”.

But she has also defended compromises she has made with colleagues in the shadow cabinet, saying she will not let her principles “block” her party from getting elected.

Speaking to the Beth Rigby Interviews programme in January, she said it was “not about getting rid of my principles”.

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Beth Rigby interviews Angela Rayner

But she added: “When I was a free school meals kid, principles would not have fed me. It was the free school meals programme that Labour brought in.”

She said the only way for those projects to become a reality was a win at the ballot box, meaning the “overriding principle” for her was “delivery”.

Abuse and controversy

Ms Rayner has received rape and death threats and has talked about how she had panic buttons installed at her home.

In 2021, a man was sentenced after he admitted sending a threatening email telling her to “watch your back and your kids”.

Separately, on the day of the sentence, Ms Rayner apologised “unreservedly” for calling Conservatives “scum” during her party’s conference the previous month.

She had initially refused to apologise but later said she would not use the same language again having reflected on the “threats and abuse” that often feature in politics.

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September 2021: Angela Rayner defends calling Tories ‘scum’

In 2022, a Mail On Sunday article claimed Tory MPs had accused her of a “Basic Instinct” ploy to distract Boris Johnson by crossing and uncrossing her legs.

Describing the article as “disgusting”, Ms Rayner said the piece “wasn’t just about me as a woman, it was also steeped in classism and about where I come from, where I grew up”.

The article received a huge backlash, with even Boris Johnson saying while he did not agree with her politically, he “deplore[d] the misogyny directed at her anonymously”.

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Crypto execs expect global banking push into Bitcoin by end of 2025

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Crypto execs expect global banking push into Bitcoin by end of 2025

Crypto execs expect global banking push into Bitcoin by end of 2025

Despite the ongoing market meltdown on US trade tariffs, executives at major cryptocurrency firms Messari and Sygnum are bullish on institutional Bitcoin adoption later in 2025.

Speaking on a panel at Paris Blockchain Week on April 8, Messari CEO Eric Turner and Sygnum Bank co-founder Thomas Eichenberger said they expect a significant shift in the banking sector’s involvement with crypto in the second half of the year.

According to the executives, the global banking push into Bitcoin (BTC) services has great potential to happen in the second half of 2025 as regulators embrace crypto, including stablecoins and crypto services by banks.

“I think we’re probably looking at a muted Q2, but I’m really excited for Q3 and Q4,” Messari’s Turner said during the panel discussion moderated by Cointelegraph CEO Yana Prikhodchenko, forecasting “really interesting” things coming to the crypto market in 2025.

Crypto adoption is not just about Trump

While some investors focus on the pro-crypto stance of US President Donald Trump, Turner emphasized that broader regulatory momentum is what matters most.

“When you look at the potential of having market structure regulation in the US, stablecoin regulation, and just the fact that across the board, not just President Trump himself, but the SEC and all these regulatory industries are really embracing crypto,” Turner said.

Banks, Paris, Bitcoin Regulation, Policy

Paris Blockchain Week’s panel with Cointelegraph CEO Yana Prikhodchenko, Bancor co-founder Eyal Hertzog, Sygnum co-founder Thomas Eichenberger, Messari CEO Eric Turner, AWS fintech leader Alex Matsuo and Near chief operating officer Chris Donovan. Source: Cointelegraph

Sygnum co-founder Thomas Eichenberger said international banks with US branches are also poised to enter the market once the legal landscape becomes clearer:

“I think it’s a matter of fact that US banks are preparing to be able to offer crypto custody and at least crypto spot trading services anytime soon.”

“I think by then I would agree with you, Eric,” he continued, projecting a continued phase of market uncertainty until the US establishes a clear regulatory framework.

Related: Ripple acquires crypto-friendly prime broker Hidden Road for $1.25B

Banks are no longer afraid of Bitcoin regulators

With the establishment of clear crypto rules for banks in the US, there will be a rush for crypto services by large international banks that are incorporated outside of the US but have a US-based presence, Eichenberger said.

“Some of them may have had their strategic plans in their cupboard to offer crypto-related services, but have been afraid that at some point they will be gone after by any of the  US regulatory authorities,” he said, adding:

“Now I think there’s no one to be afraid of anymore in terms of regulatory authorities worldwide. So I think many of the large international banks will launch this year.”

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

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Trump tariff negotiations are ‘all about’ China deal — Raoul Pal

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Trump tariff negotiations are ‘all about’ China deal — Raoul Pal

Trump tariff negotiations are ‘all about’ China deal — Raoul Pal

Global trade tensions triggered by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff measures may come to an end with a potential deal with China as investors remain concerned about escalation from both sides.

Trump’s April 2 announcement of reciprocal import tariffs sent shockwaves through global equity and crypto markets. The measures include a 10% baseline tariff on all imported goods, effective April 5, with higher levies — such as a 34% tariff on Chinese imports — set to begin on April 9.

However, the tariff negotiations may only be “posturing” for the US to reach an agreement with China, according to Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor.

“In the end, almost all the other tariff negotiations and rhetoric are all about getting China to agree a deal,” Pal wrote in an April 8 X post, adding:

“That is the big prize and both China and the US understand it and need it. Everything else is negotiation posturing. China needs a weaker $ and the US needs tariffs.”

Trump tariff negotiations are ‘all about’ China deal — Raoul Pal

Source: Raoul Pal

“Also, the US is trying to shut down China tariff arbitrage using other channels such as Mexico or Vietnam,” Pal said.

Related: Bitcoin price can hit $250K in 2025 if Fed shifts to QE: Arthur Hayes

China retaliates with new tariffs

Considering China’s latest retaliatory measures, a resolution remains unlikely in the short term.

In response to US tariffs, China imposed a 34% tariff on all US imports effective April 10, media outlet Xinhua News reported on April 4. China’s foreign ministry also vowed to “fight till the end” against Trump’s tariffs, which it called “bullying” by the world’s largest economy.

Trump tariff negotiations are ‘all about’ China deal — Raoul Pal

China overtakes the US in global trade. Source: Econovis

China overtook the US in 2012 to become the world’s largest trading nation by the total value of exports and imports, surpassing $4 trillion in goods trade that year, according to The Guardian.

Crypto markets watch trade outcome closely

As the trade dispute continues to evolve, analysts say a potential agreement between the two global superpowers could serve as a key catalyst for recovery in digital asset markets.

Crypto markets have a 70% chance to bottom by June 2025 before recovering, Nansen analysts predicted.

Related: Crypto market bottom likely by June despite tariff fears: Finance Redefined

Investor appetite for risk assets such as Bitcoin will depend on the global tariff responses from other countries, according to Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen.

“We have reached somewhat of a local bottom in regard to tariffs and the impact on prices,” the analyst said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction live show on X, adding:

“Trump came out guns blazing, and we’ve mostly seen the worst from the US side, so we’ll see if other countries are willing to drop some of the tariffs because it’s very likely the US will do the same.”

Magazine: Bitcoin ATH sooner than expected? XRP may drop 40%, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 23 – 29

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Nigerian court postpones Binance tax evasion case to end of April: Report

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Nigerian court postpones Binance tax evasion case to end of April: Report

Nigerian court postpones Binance tax evasion case to end of April: Report

A Nigerian court has reportedly delayed the country’s tax evasion case against Binance until April 30 to give time for Nigeria’s tax authority to respond to a request from the crypto exchange.

Reuters reported on April 7 that a lawyer for Binance, Chukwuka Ikwuazom, asked a court the same day to invalidate an order allowing for court documents to be served to the company via email.

Binance doesn’t have an office in Nigeria and Ikwuazom claimed the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) didn’t get court permission to serve court documents to Binance outside the country.

“On the whole the order for the substituted service as granted by the court on February 11, 2025 on Binance who is … registered under the laws of Cayman Islands and resident in Cayman Islands is improper and should be set aside,” he said.

FIRS sued Binance in February, claiming the exchange owed $2 billion in back taxes and should be made to pay $79.5 billion for damages to the local economy as its its operations allegedly destabilized the country’s currency, the naira, which Binance denies.

It also reportedly alleged that Binance is liable to pay corporate income tax in Nigeria, as it has a “significant economic presence” there, with FIRS requesting a court order for the exchange to pay income taxes for 2022 and 2023, plus a 10% annual penalty on unpaid amounts along with a nearly a 27% interest rate on the unpaid taxes.

Nigeria’s legal history with Binance

In February 2024, Nigeria arrested and detained Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla on tax fraud and money laundering charges. The country dropped the tax charges against both in June and the remaining charge against Gambaryan in October.

Nigerian court postpones Binance tax evasion case to end of April: Report

Tigran Gambaryan (right) was seen in a September video struggling to walk into a courtroom in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. Source: X

Anjarwalla managed to slip his guards and escape Nigerian custody to Kenya in March last year and is apparently still at large.

Related: Binance exec shares details about release from Nigerian detention 

Gambaryan, a US citizen, returned home in October after reports suggested his health had deteriorated during his detainment with reported cases of pneumonia, malaria and a herniated spinal disc that may need surgery.

Binance stopped its naira currency deposits and withdrawals in March 2024, effectively leaving the Nigerian market.

Magazine: Trash collectors in Africa earn crypto to support families with ReFi 

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