Earlier this year, Angela Rayner was weighing up whether to reach for the Labour crown if Sir Keir Starmer's leadership was challenged. But in the end she added her name to the wave of Labour MPs nominating Andy Burnham as leader, propelling the former Greater Manchester mayor into Downing Street uncontested. Now she has made a return to the cabinet, with Burnham giving her back the job of housing secretary from which she resigned in September last year, after admitting she did not pay enough tax on the purchase of a new home. It is a role in which she will play a key part in his drive to devolve power away from Westminster and deliver a major programme of council house building. Her against-the-odds story, personality, and ability to connect with parts of the electorate other politicians have struggled to reach are likely to make her a prominent voice within Burnham's top team.