Angela Rayner, Britain's Deputy Prime Minister, arrives for a cabinet meeting in Downing Street, London, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

The recent government reshuffle, following Angela Rayner’s resignation, has produced a mixed picture for women’s representation. On the one hand we have lost a vital, vibrant role model for women and girls, with an incredible origin story. On the other hand, for the first time in British history, women now occupy three of the four Great Offices of State: Chancellor (Rachel Reeves), Foreign Secretary (Yvette Cooper), and Home Secretary (Shabana Mahmood).

This unprecedented concentration of power is a vital symbol of female political authority – but it will be interesting to watch the media coverage. Women Ministers often face sexist or misogynistic framing, subtly querying authority or competence. Headlines can often carry undermining undertones or double standards – “Legs- it,” anyone? Or, perhaps more pertinent, the bizarre accusation that Rayner was creating a Basic Instinct type distraction for the Chamber.

The Deputy Prime Minister’s demise resulted in much crowing in some sections of the press, whilst other (male) MPs – both past and present - whose financial affairs could be deemed dubious at best – are often given more of a free pass. With headlines often calling her ‘The Red Queen’, and alluding to her perceived ‘social class’, it can seem like a female scalp is high currency – and potentially non more so than a working class woman.

The media has long unfairly fixated on Angela Rayner – her rise from council........

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