TalkTV came to a halt on Thursday evening, and it's a bad look for Housing Secretary Angela Rayner. Pressing pause on the programme, host Kevin O'Sullivan told viewers that Angela had refused to return the £17K severance payment that she received last year. The sum in question had been given to the politician after she was forced to resign in "disgrace" from Sir Keir Starmer's cabinet in September.
"She was forced to quit in disgrace because she didn't pay her stamp duty," Kevin began. "She dodged her stamp duty tax while buying a swish seafront apartment in Hove, in Sussex. So she had to quit in September in disgrace. Outrageously, she still got a £17k payoff."
Noting that just seven months later, Angela had been returned to the exact same role as a result of new prime minister Andy Burnham's appointments, Kevin slammed Angela's decision as "disgusting".
"She's just told the BBC that she's not going to pay the £16,876 ministerial severance payment because she said she worked hard for that money," he continued. "That's disgusting isn't it! It's absolutely disgusting."
Taking to X, viewers voiced their frustrations, with many agreeing with Kevin. "Horrible greedy woman needs a reality check, she owes the tax payers!!!" tweeted one. "@andyburnham this is disgraceful… Corrupt @UKLabour!!!!" wrote a second. "Rayner should NOT be allowed back into politics," remarked a third.
Meanwhile, a fourth remarked: "So you get sacked from your job, get paid for being sacked, then a year later you get the same job back and get to keep the money. In what other (public body) world would that be acceptable?"
Angela, who settled her tax affairs with HMRC in May, was forced to pay £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty on her Hove property. Reflecting on the controversy that had sparked her initial resignation, the Labour minister told the BBC: "The situation I went through last year was really difficult, it was difficult for my family, but I felt I'd let people down and I never want to let people down, I want to fight for them."
Amid Angela's return to government, the Conservatives have criticised her refusal to return the £17k severance payment. "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 hit back.