Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner could barely conceal her ambition today as she said she knows with 'absolute certainty' she would be a better prime minister than 'blustering' Boris Johnson.
Ms Rayner made the assertive statement during her morning media round on Saturday ahead of the first day of the Labour party conference in Brighton.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme 'women in positions of power and influence shouldn't just say no' when asked if they want more.
When asked if she had ambitions to become prime minister she added: 'If Boris Johnson can bluster himself in as prime minister I know with absolute certainty I can do better than that.'
In an effort not to outshine the current leader of the Labour party, she added that Sir Keir Starmer was the 'jin to my yang' and she wanted to work with him to reach Number 10.
'Together we’re a powerful force that can change the country for the better,' she added.
Deputy leader of the Labour Party Angela Rayner could not disguise her ambition during her morning media round on Saturday ahead of the first day of the Labour party conference. Pictured, with leader Sir Keir Starmer on Saturday
When asked if she had ambitions to become prime minister, Ms Rayner (pictured with Sir Keir) added: 'If Boris Johnson can bluster himself in as prime minister I know with absolute certainty I can do better than that'
It comes after Ms Rayner revealed details of her youth and the difficult relationship she had with her 'unloving' parents.
Ms Rayner opened up about her poverty-stricken upbringing on a council estate in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in an interview with the Times.
The 41-year-old set out her experiences of growing up as she said she feels she 'can't be loved because I (sic) never have been'.
She described a home without affection where her bipolar mother 'could only love one person at a time' - and chose Ms Rayner's father.
'She couldn't emotionally connect to us' because of the bipolar disorder which made her unbalanced.
'My dad would have done something that upset her and it would be as if her world had collapsed and everything had ended and she was in total crisis.'
Ms Rayner said there were no 'hugs and kisses' at bedtime, instead she would try to 'get under the blanket as quickly as possible' and put fears about monsters in the room at the back of her mind.
She says her father was 'shouty' and often scared her so much she would wet the bed then hide the sheets because she was terrified of being told off.
Asked about caring for her mentally ill mother, who made several suicide attempts, Ms Rayner said: 'She cut herself; she's been sectioned. I've had to bathe her and get her out of bed, then get up and go to school.'
Ms Rayner told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme 'women in positions of power and influence shouldn't just say no' when asked if they want more. Pictured, with Sir Keir
Asked about caring for her mentally ill mother, Lynn Bowen (pictured), who made several suicide attempts, Ms Rayner said: 'She cut herself; she's been sectioned. I've had to bathe her and get her out of bed, then get up and go to school'
But there were also moments of black humour - when the family would laugh about her mother bringing home wholly inappropriate items from the supermarket - in one case a tin of dog food.
'She thought it was stewing steak. She's not able to read or write, but she used to look at the pictures.
'She had shaving foam once to have with our jelly – she thought it was cream. We had Immac [hair removal cream] as toothpaste. That was my mum. We used to have a laugh about it.'
Ms Rayner admits most of her childhood memories are 'pretty horrifying', describing washing once a week on a Sunday at her gran's house and desperately hoping her friends would ask her for a roast dinner.
But Ms Rayner credits her 'dysfunctional' upbringing for her work ethic and helping her thrive in a post-Brexit Westminster.
She
