Housing Secretary Angela Rayner was paid £89,000 for speaking engagements, despite previously attacking MPs for having second jobs. The money came from speaking engagements between September 5, 2025, when she resigned from the Government following a row over unpaid stamp duty on a flat, and July 20 this year, when she was given a Cabinet role by new Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Ms Rayner, a former Deputy Prime Minister, was also paid an additional £15,000 for public speaking events that went directly to charities. Public speaking is not Ms Rayner’s only money-spinner. She also received a £76,500 advance for a book she appears to be writing.
Previous comments on second jobs
As the Times reports, Ms Rayner posted on X in March 2023: “Being an MP isn’t a second job. It is the job.” And she said in the year previously that “the public deserves a government that respects them — not one that treats the job of an MP as just another income”.
Asked if she was behaving inconsistently, Ms Rayner told Sky News that she was able to earn extra income while still doing her job as an MP. She said: “Well, I was focusing on my constituents during that time, and you’ll have seen from the members’ interest there was, I think, around six engagements in 12 months for a couple of hours of speaking engagements, and that’s all declared appropriately.”
Details of payments
The Register of Members’ Interests shows that Ms Rayner worked with agencies such as JLA Speakers Ltd and Chartwell Speakers, who provide speakers for events. It also lists the “ultimate payer” of the fees, meaning the firm that booked her to speak.
It shows: £19,000 received on February 13, 2026 for 5.45 hours work. The ultimate payer was the Management Consultancies Association. £10,000 received on March 10, 2026 for two hours. The ultimate payer was BNP Paribas, a bank. £20,000 received on March 25, 2026 for three hours. The ultimate payer was Coex Partners, a financial services firm. £20,000 received on June 22, 2026 for two hours. The ultimate payer was Property Mark, a trade body for estate agents. £20,000 received on June 22, 2026 for four hours. The ultimate payer was Deutsche Bank.
In addition, the register shows: £10,000 received on March 20, 2026 for one hour from Signum Global Advisors LLP, a political risk advisory firm. This was paid directly to charity. £5,000 received on June 18, 2026 for two hours from The Mouradian Foundation Limited, a think tank. This was paid directly to a charity.
She received the £76,500 "advance for a book", with the payment registered on May 21, 2026. The ultimate payer was publisher Random House, with the money coming via talent agency William Morris Endeavour Entertainment Ltd.
Labour Party position on second jobs
A Labour Party spokesman said that all declarations were made in line with parliamentary and Electoral Commission rules. MPs are currently allowed to take second jobs but are prohibited by the Code of Conduct for MPs from providing paid parliamentary advice.
The Labour Party 2024 general election manifesto for the 2024 general election said it would ban MPs from taking up paid advisory or consultancy work. It said: “The absence of rules on second jobs also means some constituents end up with MPs who spend more time on their second job, or lobbying for outside interests, than on representing them. Therefore, as an initial step, Labour will support an immediate ban on MPs from taking up paid advisory or consultancy roles.
“We will task the Modernisation Committee to take forward urgent work on the restrictions that need to be put in place to prevent MPs from taking up roles that stop them serving their constituents and the country.”
In February Labour’s Darren Jones, at the time the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, told the House of Commons: “The Government are committed to the principle that second jobs for Members of Parliament should be banned outside very limited exceptions, such as maintaining a professional qualification. The Committee on Standards is currently conducting an inquiry into second jobs, and we are working with the Committee to deliver meaningful change as quickly as possible.”
