Angela Rayner defends raking in thousands of pounds in speaking gigs... despite previously saying MPs shouldn't have second jobs

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 10:20, 19 August 2026 | Updated: 10:22, 19 August 2026 Angela Rayner today defended her earnings from speaking gigs while she was out of Government - despite having previously criticised MPs' outside earnings. The register of MPs' interests shows that Ms Rayner raked in nearly £90,000 from speaking engagements between February and June this year. She also received £76,500 as an advance on her forthcoming book, and £2,400 for hosting a radio phone-in show. Ms Rayner earned the cash while she was out of the Cabinet after being forced to resign as Housing Secretary in September last year. It followed her tearful admission she failed to pay £40,000 in stamp duty on the purchase of a £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex. She returned to her former role in July this year when new Prime Minister Andy Burnham brought her back to Government. Ms Rayner, the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, this morning defended herself from suggestions of hypocrisy after she previously said MPs shouldn't have second jobs. In May 2023, amid scrutiny of MPs' other earnings, Ms Rayner had posted on social media: 'Being an MP isn’t a second job. It is the job. Labour will put an end to this racket.' Angela Rayner today defended her earnings from speaking gigs while she was out of Government - despite having previously criticised MPs' outside earnings In May 2023, amid scrutiny of MPs' other earnings, Ms Rayner had posted on social media: 'Being an MP isn’t a second job. It is the job. Labour will put an end to this racket.'  Asked on Wednesday about her earnings from speaking engagements and whether she should have focused on her constituents in that time, Ms Rayner told Sky News: 'Well, I was focusing on my constituents during that time. 'There was, I think, around six engagements in 12 months for a couple of hours... and that's all declared appropriately. 'I don't consider that to have been a second job.  'I've been very clear on making sure that everything that I do is for the people of Ashton-under-Lyne and the country to support changing the frustration that they feel that Government isn't working for them. 'And that's why I'm incredibly honoured to be back in government and to be driving these changes forward. 'So that we can build the homes people desperately need and that we can end the homelessness and the rough sleeping that we're seeing that's across the country at the moment. Ms Rayner lashed out at MPs' 'shameful' outside earnings in 2023 following a 'sting' operation by the campaign group Led By Donkeys. Undercover footage revealed former Tory ministers Matt Hancock and Kwasi Kwarteng agreed to work for a fake South Korean company for £10,000 a day. MPs are allowed to have second jobs and there is no suggestion of parliamentary rule-breaking.