Angela Rayner has defended not returning a nearly £17,000 severance payment she received when she resigned from government in 2025, after returning to cabinet as Andy Burnham’s Housing Secretary. The MP for Ashton-under-Lyne received the payment after resigning from her role as housing secretary, deputy prime minister, and deputy Labour Party leader over a row about her tax affairs. HMRC has since cleared her of wrongdoing. When in opposition, Ms Rayner criticised Conservative ministers who received the lump sum – the equivalent of a quarter of an annual ministerial salary – for only a few weeks’ work during a chaotic period of multiple reshuffles. The Tories have urged her to repay her severance package. In her first major broadcast interview since her return, Ms Rayner told Matt Chorley on BBC 5 Live on Thursday: "No, my severance payment was given to me at the time. I’d worked in government for a period of time, and then I came out of government for just under a year, I think is the timetable, and I’ll be delivering in government again."