Angela Rayner is battling for her political future and has referred herself to Keir Starmer’s ethics adviser over the admission she underpaid tax on her £800,000 seaside flat
Angela Rayner is battling for her political future over the admission she underpaid tax on her £800,000 seaside flat.
In a bombshell interview on Wednesday, the Deputy PM said she had received incorrect legal advice, which meant she could have saved around £40,000 by paying a lower rate of stamp duty when she bought the property in Hove, East Sussex.
Ms Rayner, who is also the Housing Secretary, said she “deeply regrets” the error and appeared emotional when she said she had discussed resigning with her family. But she has referred herself to the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministerial interests and vowed to repay any tax she owes to HMRC.
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While she doesn’t appear to be on the verge of resigning – after receiving support from Keir Stamer directly – her political future is no longer in her hands
What happens next?
Ms Rayner will be hoping she can weather the storm.
But Sir Laurie Magnus – the PM’s ethics adviser – will now get to work to investigating whether there was any breach of the ministerial code or ethics rules. Crucially, he will also want to see the incorrect advice the Deputy PM says she recieved on how much stamp duty on her second home was required.
Ms Rayner said in her statement on Wednesday she had taken legal advice when she bought the south coast flat, which suggested she was “liable to pay standard stamp duty”, but had then sought “further advice from a leading tax counsel” after headlines about the arrangement.
She learned that the initial advice had been inaccurate and she was liable to pay additional stamp duty. That is because she had put her stake in her constituency home in Ashton into a trust set up in 2020 for her disabled son. Tax experts said the Hove property could not be treated as her only residence because of the nature of the trust.
Ms Rayner is also working with HMRC to determine how much tax she owes.
How long will the probe take?
It could be just a matter of days.
The most recent probe by Sir Laurie into the former Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq reported back just eight days – after she referred herself to the watchdog.
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Keir Starmer will also be praying the episode is behind him in time for the Labour Party conference in Liverpool at the end of the month. But ultimately the length of the probe is down to Sir Laurie himself, and it could land on Mr Starmer’s desk at any moment.
Will Keir Starmer be forced to sack Angela Rayner?
If Sir Laurie suggests there was an inadvertent breach of the ministerial code, Keir Starmer could ask Ms Rayner to apologise and keep her in post. But if the summary is particularly brutal and suggests there was a serious breach of the code, the PM may feel he is left with no other option.
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Technically, Mr Starmer could overrule Sir Laurie and stand-by his deputy. Boris Johnson followed this path and refused to sack Priti Patel – his then Home Secretary – back in 2022. The former PM overruled his independent adviser, who said her behaviour at the time “can be described as bullying”.
This led to the resignation of the ethics adviser, Sir Alex Allan. How did Keir Starmer respond at the time? “If I were Prime Minister, the Home Secretary would have been removed from her job.”
But even if the PM is forced to sack Ms Rayner, he cannot remove her role as Labour’s deputy leader, which is an elected position among party members.
Will Angela Rayner resign?
The most likely scenario is that she will hold onto her job until Sir Laurie’s report lands on the Prime Minister’s desk in No10.
But previous ministers – including former homelessness minister Rushanara Ali – have resigned after concluding they have become a distraction to the work of government.
This morning the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson was set to tour the broadcast studios to promote government work on creating more nursery places. But most of the questions were on Ms Rayner’s tax affairs.
If the level of scrutiny and distraction becomes too overwhelming, the Deputy PM may conclude on her own terms to walk away from government. Public opinion will also be crucial.
Who is calling for the Deputy PM to resign?
The Tories have – unsurprisingly – called for Keir Starmer to sack his deputy. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: “If he had a backbone, he would sack her.”
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice added: “She was so vocal in attacking opposing politicians when she was in opposition that she can’t stand up and say ‘I’m the biggest hypocrite in the land’. She has to offer her resignation to the Prime Minister.”
But there was a sympathetic response from Sir Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, who also has a disabled son. He said: “I understand it is normally the role of opposition leaders to jump up and down and call for resignations – as we’ve seen plenty of from the Conservatives already.
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“Obviously if the ethics adviser says Angela Rayner has broken the rules, her position may well become untenable. But as a parent of a disabled child, I know the thing my wife and I worry most about is our son’s care after we have gone, so I can completely understand and trust that the Deputy Prime Minister was thinking about the same thing here.”
How have Labour MPs and Keir Starmer reacted?
Keir Starmer said he was “very proud to sit alongside” his deputy at PMQs, saying she had done the right thing to refer herself for a probe.
The PM, who gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder in the Commons, said she did the “right” thing by referring herself to an ethics probe. 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.”
Crucially, most Cabinet ministers and Labour MPs appear to be rallying around the Deputy PM – but admit her future is out of her hands.
And on Thursday morning the Chancellor Rachel Reeves came out swinging for Ms Rayner, who said she had full confidence in her Cabinet colleague.
One told The Mirror: “She has absolutely done the right thing and no one should ever underestimate how loved Angela is in the PLP [Parliamentary Labour Party]. It sounds to me like she did the right thing taking professional advice and wasn’t very well served.”
But another said: “I feel sorry in a way for her, as does the PLP. But the charge of tax dodging is a serious one. After all, the take home pay of many of my constituents means that many of them don’t earn £40k over two years.”
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