Rayner returns as housing secretary
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced his cabinet, with Angela Rayner set to lead the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government for a second time and Matthew Pennycook to remain as housing minister.
- READ MORE: The big ask for Burnham
Rayner had previously held the post from July 2024 until she resigned in September 2025 following the discovery that she had underpaid stamp duty on an apartment in Hove.
She settled with HMRC in May of this year without having to pay a penalty, which would have been necessary if she had deliberately or carelessly failed to pay the tax.
Rayner replaces Steve Reed as secretary of state. In the past five years, the title of housing secretary has changed hands seven times.
While Rayner did not coin the phrase “Build, baby, build”, she was highly regarded as leading the government’s pro-development movement during her first stint in the office.
This included committing £100m in accelerator loans for SME housebuilders, introducing the concept of Grey Belt, shaking up the planning system with the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, and the setting of the 1.5m new homes target.
Rayner said on social media that she was “delighted” to take on the housing secretary role one again.
“I look forward to returning to government with renewed drive and determination to put power back in people’s hands – and hope back in our hearts,” she posted.
I am delighted to have accepted the position of Secretary of State at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Andy Burnham’s vision of good growth in every postcode demands we build on the foundations we have already laid to bring the change we have…
— Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) July 20, 2026
Rayner is the MP for Ashton under Lyne. She is one of 12 Northern MPs, and four from Greater Manchester, to claim a spot on Burnham’s cabinet.
Her fellow Greater Manchester MPs in Cabinet are:
- Business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds, MP for Stalybridge and Hyde
- Culture secretary Lisa Nandy, MP for Wigan
- Education secretary Lucy Powell, MP for Manchester Central
Merseyside MPs have two spots in Cabinet: chief whip Anneliese Midgley is the MP for Knowsley and environment secretary Angela Eagles is the MP for Wallasey.
North Eastern MPs also have two spots: Leader of the Commons Alan Campbell is the MP for Tynemouth and equalities minister Bridget Phillipson is the MP for Houghton and Sunderland South.
There are four Cabinet members from Yorkshire. They are:
- Chancellor John Healey, MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough
- Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Louise Haigh, MP for Sheffield Heeley
- Foreign secretary Ed Miliband, MP for Doncaster North
- Health secretary Yvette Cooper, MP for Pontefract, Castleford, and Knottingley
There are three Midlands MPs in Cabinet as well:
- Home secretary Shabana Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Ladywood
- Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden, MP for Wolverhampton South East
- Intergovernmental relations minister Hamis Falconer, MP for Lincoln
The remaining cabinet members represent constituencies in the South of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
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