Angela Rayner will receive a severance payment of nearly £17,000 after resigning as deputy Prime Minister — just weeks before new rules banning golden handshakes for discredited MPs come into force.
Cabinet ministers are entitled to a payment worth 25 per cent of their annual ministerial salary when leaving office. Labour has pledged to scrap the perk for ministers who depart following “serious breaches” of the ministerial code, but the change does not take effect until 13 October.
It means Rayner will still qualify for a £16,876 package following her resignation this week, according to The Telegraph.
She stepped down as deputy Prime Minister and deputy leader of the Labour Party after outrage over her failure to pay £40,000 in stamp duty on the recent purchase of her flat in Hove. Sir Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministers’ interests, ruled that she had breached the ministerial code by not meeting the “highest possible standards of proper conduct.”
It is not yet clear if her case would be judged a “serious” breach under the new rules, which will be subject to the Prime Minister’s interpretation.
Rayner’s payout would likely cover any penalty from HMRC following her underpayment of stamp duty, believed to be around £12,000. She is also expected to benefit from an enhanced pension after just a year in post as deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, with experts estimating the boost is worth about £1,400 a year.
Sources say it is up to Ms Rayner whether she chooses to accept the severance payment.
Her departure triggered a wide-ranging reshuffle by Downing Street. David Lammy was appointed deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, Yvette Cooper moved to the Foreign Office, and Shabana Mahmood became Home Secretary.
