Conservative lawmakers are calling for Angela Rayner, a newly reappointed Cabinet minister, to return a £16,876 payoff she received upon leaving her ministerial post last year. The demand comes after Rayner was appointed to Prime Minister Andy Burnham's top team, returning to her former role as Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary just ten months after her resignation.
Rayner resigned from the position in September of the previous year following an admission that she failed to pay £40,000 in stamp duty on a new flat. Official accounts from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) confirmed the exit payment, which is equivalent to 25% of a minister's annual salary for those not reappointed within three weeks. Rayner's payoff represented a quarter of her £67,505 ministerial salary, in addition to her £98,599 salary as the Member of Parliament for Ashton-under-Lyne.
Conservative shadow minister James Cleverly stated that Rayner should repay the money, accusing her of hypocrisy for campaigning against tax avoidance while allegedly avoiding tax herself. He criticized her reappointment by Burnham, suggesting it highlights a double standard for the Labour party.
Mike Wood, another shadow minister, contrasted Rayner's acceptance of the severance payment with that of Rushanara Ali, a former MHCLG minister who declined a payoff after resigning over a dispute regarding a rental property. Wood suggested Rayner's payment served as a financial cushion.
According to an update to the ministerial code made in October of the previous year, ministers are expected to forgo their salary for any overlapping period if they are reappointed to a ministerial office within three months of receiving a severance payment. Further changes in October 2025 stipulate that ministers should waive severance payments if they have committed a 'serious breach' of the ministerial code.
Sir Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister's independent adviser on ministers' interests, previously ruled that Rayner breached the ministerial code by failing to meet the 'highest possible standards of proper conduct' in relation to the stamp duty issue. A spokesperson for Rayner has previously stated that the independent ethics adviser's investigation concluded she acted with integrity. Sources close to Rayner have pointed out that Tory leader Kemi Badenoch received a £7,920 severance payment upon leaving Boris Johnson's government in July 2022, before returning to Cabinet two months later under Liz Truss.