Angela Rayner has retained her education brief in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet.

The Labour leader made minimal changes in his reshuffle, which was announced this evening.

Ms Rayner was first appointed to the shadow education secretary role in July 2016, in the wake of the resignation of Lucy Powell over concerns about Mr Corbyn’s leadership, and the decision of Pat Glass to quit after just two days.

In a tweet, Ms Rayner said: “Extremely happy to remain the Shadow Secretary of State for Education. Our team will continue to provide an alternative vision for Education.”

She has been a high profile Labour campaigner since her appointment, leading her party’s opposition to Theresa May’s plans for more grammar schools, and campaigning on school funding.

She has sometimes being mentioned as a possible successor to Mr Corbyn.

She grew up on a council estate and became a parent in her teens. She has previously worked as a care worker and a Unison trade union official.

Her re-appointment follows a government re-shuffle that left Justine Greening, Nick Gibb and Lord Nash in place at the Department for Education, with two new ministers joining the team.