Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he fully expects Angela Rayner to make a return to cabinet, praising his former deputy as hugely talented despite her resignation in September over an underpayment of stamp duty on a property purchase.
In an interview with the Observer, Starmer described Rayner who left school at 16 with no qualifications as the best social mobility story this country has ever seen.
He added that her departure from government had been a personal loss, saying: “Of course I miss her. I was really sad that we lost her. She’s going to be a major voice in the Labour movement.”
When asked directly if she would return to cabinet, he replied: “Yes. She’s hugely talented.”
Recall, Rayner resigned as deputy prime minister and housing secretary after Starmer’s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, ruled that she had breached the ministerial code by failing to seek adequate advice on the stamp duty she owed on a flat in Hove.
Magnus noted that Rayner had acted with integrity,but said her oversight still constituted a breach.
Starmer’s latest comments are notably firmer than his September letter to Rayner, in which he stopped short of suggesting she would return a contrast to the message he gave Tulip Siddiq when she resigned earlier this year.
Since leaving government, Rayner has kept a low profile. She was expected to push an amendment to the workers’ rights bill she championed in office but withdrew it after discussions with the business secretary, Peter Kyle.
Rumours have circulated linking Rayner and other ministers to possible leadership manoeuvres should Labour perform poorly in upcoming local and devolved elections, though her allies strongly deny this.
Starmer dismissed such speculation and said both Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves have faced gendered hostility. “All politicians get abuse,” he said, “but for women it’s always worse.”
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