Angela Rayner in shock return as housing secretary

Angela Rayner has returned as housing secretary less than a year after resigning from the post over the stamp duty paid on her £800,000 flat in Hove.

The appointment brings her back to the department under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, with Ms Rayner saying she is ‘delighted’ to resume the role.

Ms Rayner resigned as deputy prime minister and housing secretary last September after admitting she had underpaid stamp duty on the property.

The matter was settled with HMRC in May.

However, departmental accounts show that she received a £16,876 severance payment following her resignation, according to the Local Government Chronicle.

Returning with drive

Writing on social media, Ms Rayner said: “Andy Burnham’s vision of good growth in every postcode demands we build on the foundations we have already laid to bring the change we have promised.

“I look forward to returning to government with renewed drive and determination to put power back in people’s hands – and hope back in our hearts.”

Her return is part of a wider reshuffle in which John Healey, a former Minister of State for housing in the Department for Communities and Local Government, has been appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer. The appointment was formally announced on 20 July. ([GOV.UK][2])

Steve Reed, who served as housing secretary under Keir Starmer, has left the government.

Matthew Pennycook, who steered the Renters’ Rights Bill through Parliament, remains minister of state for housing and planning at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Key manifesto pledge

Nathan Emerson, the chief executive of Propertymark, said: “Housing must remain at the centre of the political agenda to deliver much-needed progress.

“With an already demanding programme of new legislation to implement across the sector, alongside the significant challenge of delivering the key manifesto pledge to build 1.5 million new homes across England, the urgency of meeting future housing demand has never been greater.”

Mark Chick, ALEP director and senior partner at Bishop & Sewell LLP, said Ms Rayner’s previous experience should reduce the time needed to become familiar with leasehold policy.

He said: “The return of Angela Rayner should mean a degree of consistency and less reading-in time on leasehold issues.

“While we await the broader policy objectives of the new cabinet, this does seem to mean ‘business as usual’ as regards leasehold reform.”

Rayner is welcomed

Vanessa Hale, the chief executive of Real Estate:UK, said: “Prime Minister Andy Burnham has composed a new Cabinet which blends both experience and continuity, alongside an injection of new talent and fresh ideas.

“The appointment of John Healey as Chancellor offers stability and a relatively known quantity which should appeal to the markets and the machinery of government alike.

“That he is also a former Housing Minister, in an era where delivery challenges are so acute, should be considered an added bonus.”

She added: “We also welcome the return of Angela Rayner, as Housing Secretary, with whom we worked very productively in her previous stint and we look forward to her hitting the ground running and picking up the dialogue about how we get homes built and breathe life back into communities in conjunction with Matthew Pennycook who stays in role.”