Angela Rayner urged to hand back massive exit payout as she returns to Cabinet after quitting Housing Sec job

ANGELA Rayner is being urged to hand back the massive exit payout she received as she returns to the Cabinet just nine months after being sacked. The Ashton-under-Lyne MP was handed a £16,876 payout when she resigned from the role in September after it was revealed she failed to pay enough Stamp Duty. The Shadow Housing Secretary, James Cleverly, has called for Ms Rayner to pay back the severance package Credit: PA Angela Rayner was given a £17,000 golden handshake when she was forced to resign her post last September Credit: Getty The former Deputy PM quietly took the payment ahead of new rules coming into force preventing ex-ministers found guilty of a “serious breach” of the ministerial code from receiving such payouts. Ms Rayner is now facing calls to hand back the taxpayer cash after being given her old job back by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham just 10 months after losing it. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! Shadow housing secretary James Cleverly, told The Daily Mail: “She pocketed a £17,000 reward courtesy of the taxpayer, and now she’s got her old job back courtesy of her mate Andy Burnham, who wants to hike taxes on the family home for everyone else. “Rayner should hand back the cash. Her reappointment just confirms that there is one rule for Labour, and another for everyone else.” Meanwhile, the Conservative Party tweeted: “Angela Rayner crusaded against tax avoidance. “Then she avoided tax, got found out, quit in disgrace and took a £17k payout. “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?” Ms Rayner herself had championed the crackdown on government payouts to ministers while in opposition. Most read in The Sun But, despite being found by Sir Keir Starmer’s ethics chief to have broken the ministerial code, she still helped herself to the money. She was compelled to leave her old role in government when it was found she had underpaid her Stamp Duty on an £800,000 home in East Sussex. Ms Rayner only resolved her bill with the tax man in May of this year. Government ministers are entitled to severance of up to 25 per cent of their salary when they leave office. Ms Rayner’s payout was a quarter of her £67,505 salary that she received as housing minister in addition to her £98,599 yearly salary she receives as an MP. A source close to Ms Rayner pointed out that Tory leader Kemi Badenoch received a £7,920 severance payment when she quit Boris Johnson’s Government in July 2022. After news of the Housing Secretary’s severance payment emerged a spokesperson for Ms Rayner said: “There is a world of difference between making an honest mistake and a severe breach of the ministerial code. “As the independent ethics adviser’s investigation concluded, Angela acted with integrity and an exemplary commitment to public service.” It is understood that the newly reappointed Housing Secretary is pushing to implement a tourist tax in Britain. She is reportedly forging ahead with plans for an “overnight levy” as part of plans to implement fiscal devolution. The move would see local mayors handed more power to implement money raising powers. New Prime Minister Andy Burnham is reportedly a supporter of the policy and backed an overnight levy in his time as Mayor of Manchester. The new tax could see some £300 added to the cost of a “staycation” in the UK, the Telegraph reports. As many as 10 of England‘s 14 regional mayors are planning to or thinking about implementing the levies. Comment now