Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has demanded former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner pay back taxes she allegedly "avoided" if Prime Minister Keir Starmer brings her back into Cabinet. The heated exchange during Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday came ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Budget statement and exposed deep rifts over Rayner's departure and potential return.
Badenoch accused Starmer of considering Rayner's return because he is "desperate to shore up his crumbling leadership". She reminded the Commons that Rayner resigned "only a few months ago for tax evasion".
"When did the Prime Minister decide that lawbreakers can be lawmakers?" Badenoch asked.
Starmer dismissed the attack as "tittle-tattle" and defended his government's record. "While she's scrolling through Twitter, we've delivered – rail fares are frozen, prescription charges frozen, the minimum wage? Boosted," he said. "We're focusing on the cost of living, the single most important thing for this country."
Tax Demands and Severance Pay
Badenoch pressed further on the tax issue. She demanded Starmer set conditions for any Cabinet return: "Will he set a condition that she must pay back the £40,000 of property taxes she avoided? The same property taxes they're very happy to put on everyone else. And will she also return her £17,000 of severance pay?"
Starmer responded by praising Rayner's political journey. "The former deputy prime minister is the biggest social mobility story this country has ever told. She started from humble beginnings and fought her way to the very top," he said. "I'm very proud of what she's achieved in politics. I'm very proud of everything she's done for this Labour Government."
Budget Leak Controversy
Badenoch also criticized the Prime Minister over Budget leaks and demanded an investigation. "The Prime Minister doesn't seem to appreciate the impact of these Budget leaks on the UK economy," she said, urging him to "punish" those responsible.
She mocked the government's internal inquiry process. "What he did was he asked Morgan McSweeney to investigate Morgan McSweeney and then Morgan McSweeney discovered that Morgan McSweeney was innocent," she said, referring to the Downing Street chief of staff. "All of this calls into question the Prime Minister's judgment."
Badenoch also accused Number 10 advisers of briefing against Health Secretary Wes Streeting and other senior Cabinet ministers. Starmer denied the claims: "No-one in No 10 has briefed against Cabinet ministers and the Health Secretary's doing a fantastic job."
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
