Angela Rayner has dismissed calls to return a severance payment of nearly £17,000, received 10 months ago, after being appointed Housing Secretary under Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The payment was made when she previously left government.
Tories have urged Rayner to repay the £16,876, arguing that she had previously criticized Conservative ministers for accepting similar exit payments. Rayner had stated that those who kept payoffs showed a "staggering lack of shame" while many struggled with living costs.
However, Rayner told BBC Radio 5 Live that her earlier criticism was directed at ministers who resigned and were immediately rehired, creating a "revolving door" situation. She stated that her severance payment was received after a period of government service and before her current reappointment. She contrasted this with Conservative ministers who, she claimed, received severance payments after leaving office for only a few weeks.
Rayner resigned from her previous government role on September 5 of last year, following an admission that she had failed to pay stamp duty on a flat. Official accounts from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government confirmed the £16,876 exit payment. Rayner stated she made an "honest mistake" regarding a "very niche element" of stamp duty rules and that HMRC's investigation vindicated her, with aides asserting she paid no penalty to tax authorities.
James Cleverly, identified as the shadow housing secretary, criticized Rayner's situation, stating she "avoided tax on her home, tried to cover it up and was forced to resign in disgrace." He added that she "pocketed a £17,000 reward courtesy of the taxpayer" and that her reappointment by Burnham suggests "one rule for Labour, and another for everyone else."
Government ministers are typically entitled to a severance payment equivalent to 25% of their annual salary if they leave office and are not reappointed within three weeks. Rayner's payoff represented a quarter of her ministerial salary of £67,505, in addition to her MP salary of £98,599.
Under changes to the ministerial code made in October last year, ministers are expected to forgo their salary for any period that overlaps with their severance payment if they are reappointed within three months. A further amendment, made shortly after Rayner's resignation, states that ministers are expected to waive severance payments if they have committed a "serious breach" of the ministerial code. An earlier ruling by Sir Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister's independent adviser on ministers' interests, stated that Rayner had breached the code by failing to meet "the highest possible standards of proper conduct" regarding the stamp duty issue. A spokesperson for Rayner stated that "There is a world of difference between making an honest mistake and a severe breach of the ministerial code."