Deputy PM Angela Rayner has admitted she did not pay the right amount of tax on the purchase of her second home – and Keir Starmer has stood by his deputy
Angela Rayner has resigned from her roles in the UK government after admitting not paying the right amount of stamp duty on a second home in a huge blow to Keir Starmer who had backed his deputy after she confessed to not paying the correct amount of tax on her second home purchase – and we’re keen to hear your views.
This follows the Deputy PM’s evasion of a £40,000 stamp duty on an £800,000 seaside flat in Hove, after removing her name from the deeds of a family property in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency. As a result, Rayner was not required to pay a higher rate of tax for second homes on the Hove flat.
Should Keir Starmer have stuck by Angela Rayner after stamp duty tax row? Have your say and join in the conversation.
In a recent interview, the housing secretary revealed that she had referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, and admitted to discussing stepping down from her role with her family. Ms Rayner acknowledged that the legal advice she had depended on was incorrect, and assured that she will pay any unpaid stamp duty demanded by HMRC.
The MP for Ashton-under-Lyne informed Sky News that she “alerted and referred” herself to the ethics adviser “as soon as” she realised she had been liable to pay additional stamp duty. She stated: “I think the accusations were that I set up a trust and I flipped it to try and avoid paying it. But actually the complex area of the trust which the advice that I relied upon didn’t pick that up.
“The leading tax counsel who has subsequently looked at it has gone into that and said that actually, because of that, it did remain my sole property and the trust wasn’t set up as accusations have been made for me to try and flip… dodge tax.”, reports the Mirror.
During Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Starmer backed his deputy, praising that she did the “right” thing by referring herself to an ethics investigation.
He added: “But I can be clear, I’m very proud to sit alongside a Deputy Prime Minister who is building 1.5 million homes… who’s come from a working class background.”
Meanwhile on Monday, he remarked: “Angela came from a very humble background, battled all sorts of challenges along the way, and there she is proudly – and I’m proud of her – as our Deputy Prime Minister. Angela has had people briefing against her and talking her down over and over again. It’s a mistake.”
Nevertheless, the Conservatives have demanded Ms Rayner face an ethics investigation over her tax arrangements following the purchase of the flat.
Speaking on Thursday’s Good Morning Britain, Tory party chairman Kevin Hollinrake was branded a hypocrite for demanding Ms Rayner should resign immediately. “I think she should resign, I don’t think her position is tenable,” Hollinrake said this morning.
“The situation is she’s deputy prime minister, Housing Secretary and this is a matter that relates to housing. The information is readily available. If you look on the HMRC website it clearly sets out on the first page that trust count in terms of a primary home.”
When questioned on whether she could continue in government, the Deputy PM responded: “Well, I made a mistake based upon the advice that I relied upon that I received at the time, and a leading expert has now said that advice was wrong. I think hopefully most people can see, if you take, if you rely on advice given to you by lawyers and you follow that process and then you find out that that process is wrong and that advice is wrong, I’m rectifying it at the earliest opportunity.”
No10 had previously stated a court order prevented Ms Rayner from disclosing relevant information, which she was working to address. She informed Sky News: “It’s been quite a distressing time for my family. I have a court order that was in place around confidentiality regarding my son, my family and my divorce proceedings that happened in 2023.
“And therefore, I wasn’t able to give a full account of the circumstances of our complex living arrangements. That order was lifted last night. I applied to have the order lifted so that I could give people the information.”
In a statement issued yesterday, she detailed the “complex living arrangement” that ensued after her first home was sold to a trust following her divorce, in order to provide stability for her disabled son, who is the sole beneficiary of the trust, according to Sky News. After the explosive interview yesterday, we’re keen to hear your thoughts on whether the PM should stand by Ms Rayner.
Should Keir Starmer have stuck by Angela Rayner after stamp duty tax row? Have your say and join in the conversation.
