Rayner to rejoin Cabinet: Starmer backs comeback despite £40k tax scandal

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (right) has backed Angela Rayner to return to Cabinet (Ben Whitley/PA) Ben Whitley

Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed that Angela Rayner will return to his Cabinet after resigning from senior government roles in September. The Labour leader told The Observer he was "really sad" to lose her and praised her as "hugely talented", signaling a political comeback for his former deputy prime minister.

Rayner stepped down in September from her positions as deputy prime minister, housing secretary, and deputy Labour leader following an independent ethics probe. The investigation concluded she had breached the ministerial code by underpaying stamp duty on a seaside flat.

Starmer's backing

In the Observer interview, Starmer made clear his continued support for Rayner. Asked if he missed her, he said: "Yes, of course I do. I was really sad that we lost her." He described her as "the best social mobility story this country has ever seen" and confirmed she would return to Cabinet when asked directly: "Yes. She's hugely talented."

Starmer added: "As I said to her at the time, she's going to be a major voice in the Labour movement."

He also suggested that misogyny contributed to the criticism Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves have faced in recent months.

Conservative condition

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch argued at Prime Minister's Questions last month that any Cabinet return should come with strings attached. She said Rayner "must pay back the £40,000 of property taxes she avoided" before rejoining the government.

Leadership speculation dismissed

The Daily Telegraph reported that allies of Health Secretary Wes Streeting were pushing for a potential "joint ticket" for the Labour leadership with Rayner. A source close to the former deputy prime minister rejected the reports, saying she would "not be played like a pawn". The source added: "there is no vacancy and there is no pact."

Starmer himself insisted he has no plans to step aside before the next election. He pointed to his track record of defying critics: "When I took over the Labour party, everyone said to me, 'you're not going to be able to change the party'. We ignored that and carried on. "Then they said to me, 'you're not going to be able to win an election'. We got a landslide Labour victory. Now, 17 months into a five-year Labour term, they say 'you're not able to change the country'. Every time we've been in this position, we've defied them. And that's what I intend to do."

Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).