Angela Rayner embroiled in fresh hypocrisy row after being accused of 'do as I say, not as I do' attitude on £20k donation
Angela Rayner has come under fire after being accused of hypocrisy over a £20,000 donation from an oil advisory group.
The Housing Secretary, who criticised the Tories for failing to "take on oil and gas giants", accepted the donation from Signum Global Advisors on July 8 this year to cover some of her staffing costs.
Ms Rayner's donation was recorded as part of MPs' financial interests just months after she praised her "friend" Ed Miliband for his push towards net zero.
Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: “It’s a classic Angela Rayner case of ‘do as I say, not as I do’ just as it was when she dodged her housing taxes,” said Kevin Hollinrake, chairman of the Conservative Party.
Joanna Marchong, head of campaigns at the think tank Onward, added: “This is yet another case of Labour hypocrisy from a minister who has made a career of it."
The revelation about Ms Rayner's oil firm donation came just days after the ex-Deputy Prime Minister insisted receiving £105,000 on the speaking circuit did not constitute a second job.
Ms Rayner, who quit as Housing Secretary last year after avoiding £40,000 in stamp duty on the purchase of a second home in Hove, returned to the Cabinet after Andy Burnham became Prime Minister.
A spokesman for Ms Rayner said: “All donations have been declared in line with the rules.”
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Angela Rayner declines to return £17k severance payment she received when resigning in disgrace from Cabinet last year
Angela Rayner has refused to return the £16,876 exit payment she received when she left Government last autumn over her tax affairs.
The Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne was reinstated as Housing Secretary by Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Monday.
Ms Rayner picks up the mantle of the role she lost barely 10 months ago and has faced calls to pay back the severance money.
However, Ms Rayner today confirmed she would not be doing so, saying: “I had worked in Government for a period of time and then I came out of Government for just under a year.”
Angela Rayner opens door to more traveller sites near you as councils lose power to stop encampments
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has sparked fears of a surge in traveller sites across England by softening planning rules to remove powers from local councils.
Ms Rayner, who unveiled the changes on Monday, made it harder for both residents and councils to oppose applications for retrospective permission for illegal camps.
The new guidance removes requirements for councils to consider "potential environmental damage" and "provide a settled base that limits the need for long-distance travelling" when assessing applications.
It is likely the changes will make it easier to set up new traveller sites, with officials admitting the new policy “may also mean that locations not well-related to existing settlements may be appropriate”.
Angela Rayner says pocketing £105k delivering speeches doesn't count as second job - despite her own voters earning just £692 a week
Angela Rayner has said that pocketing £105,000 delivering speeches does not count as a second job - despite her own voters earning just £692 a week.
Ms Rayner took home the staggering sum in speaking fees as a backbencher across the course of six months, the register of MPs interests revealed.
The Ashton-under-Lyne MP said: "I was focusing on my constituents during that time, and you'll have seen from the [register of] members' interests, there was, I think around six engagements in 12 months for a couple of hours of speaking engagements. And that's all declared appropriately."
Ms Rayner delivered seven speeches between February and June.
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