Angela Rayner has told the BBC she will not repay the £16,876 ministerial severance payment she received after leaving government in September 2025, despite being reappointed to the cabinet by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Monday.
The Labour MP, who resigned as deputy prime minister and housing secretary after failing to pay enough tax on her £800,000 flat in Hove, was reinstated as housing secretary this week. The move prompted the Conservatives to demand she return the payout, which is equivalent to 25% of the annual ministerial salary and is normally forfeited if a minister is reappointed within three weeks. Rayner’s reappointment came months later, meaning she does not qualify for that exception.
“Angela Rayner refuses to repay £16,876 severance after returning to cabinet as housing secretary.”
In her first interview since returning to government, Rayner was pressed on whether she would hand back the money. She told Matt Chorley on BBC Radio 5 Live: “No, my severance payment was given to me at the time, I had worked in government for a period of time and then I came out of government for just under a year.” She added: “I will be delivering in government again.”
Rayner’s stance has drawn sharp criticism from the Conservatives, who earlier this week accused her of having “quit in disgrace and took a £17k payout” last year. “Now she’s got her old job back, will she return the cash? Or is it one rule for Labour, and another for everyone else?” the party said.
It is a striking reversal for Rayner, who in 2023 criticised the Conservatives for what she called a “staggering lack of shame” after it emerged that former ministers – some of whom later returned to the frontbench – had received more than £450,000 in severance packages. She said her earlier criticism came at a time when there was a “revolving door” that saw ministers return to government “after 40-odd days”.
The 2025/26 accounts for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government record the severance payment for Rayner. Her departure last September followed a finding by the prime minister’s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, that she had “acted with integrity” but had breached the ministerial code. Sir Laurie said she had obtained legal advice when buying the property but failed to seek further expert tax advice as recommended.
In May, Rayner resolved her tax affairs with HMRC after an investigation, settling £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty. She said she had been “exonerated” of the accusation that she had “deliberately sought to avoid tax”. Reflecting on the ordeal, she told Matt Chorley: “The situation I went through last year was really difficult, it was difficult for my family, but I felt I’d let peop…”
The row over severance pay looks set to continue, with Rayner insisting she earned the money while critics question whether a minister who breaches the code should keep the payout upon returning to the same role.