The Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has admitted that she did not pay enough stamp duty on the purchase of her £800,000 flat. She has referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics adviser and confirmed she will pay more of the property tax.The PM has given Rayner his full backing, but questions still remain over the political implications of her admission. So, should Rayner resign? The i Paper experts give their verdict.
The personal conduct of Government ministers is important. But right now, this country has far bigger problems to worry about than Angela Rayner’s taxes.
Living standards have stagnated for years, with economic growth standing on a knife-edge and the country’s borrowing costs shooting upwards just in the past few days.
And the global picture is extremely worrying, with Donald Trump continuing to send out shockwaves which have rocked European security at a time when one war is raging in our continent and another just on its doorstep.
Some of this is partly the result of mistakes made by Downing Street, some is merely bad luck. One thing is for sure – getting rid of Sir Keir Starmer’s deputy, who holds two key portfolios in the form of housing policy and employment rights, would make the situation worse not better.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has told Sky News she did not pay enough stamp duty on her second home (Photo: Sky News/PA)Investors are already concerned about the stability of the Government. Rayner is widely regarded as one of the more effective Cabinet ministers, who, unlike some colleagues, has successfully pushed through her priorities as promised to voters before the last election.
This is not the first time that Rayner has looked a little careless about following the norms and standards of political life. But there is no denying our tax system is fiendishly complicated.
The Deputy PM has once again shown she is a potential liability to her boss, who likes to portray himself as a squeaky-clean upholder of Westminster ethics. His decision to back her to the hilt could yet backfire on him.
Right now, however, forcing Rayner out of office would merely show that our political culture is focussed on petty personal issues while ignoring what really matters to British voters.Hugo Gye is The i Paper’s political editor
Andrew Fisher: ‘Rayner should step down temporarily’
A week ago I wrote that Angela Rayner should consider her position over the purchase of a home in Hove. This was not because I had inside information on her tax arrangements, but because of the moral issues around a Housing Secretary buying a second home.
Today it has been disclosed that the Deputy Prime Minister did not pay the correct amount of stamp duty when purchasing the property, and has referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards.
square POLITICS Starmer gives Rayner full backing after she admits to underpaying stamp duty
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Rayner should step down while that investigation is ongoing as this case directly overlaps with her brief as Housing Secretary. She clearly cannot be effective in her role during this time, as any public or parliamentary intervention will be diverted into a discussion of her own situation.
Starmer’s Government is in a very weak position: deeply unpopular and not trusted – issues that apply to politics across the piece – and so behaving with the utmost probity and humility is more necessary than ever.
If Rayner is cleared, perhaps found to have been badly advised by lawyers or financial advisers, then she should return. If not, her resignation will become permanent.
Andrew Fisher served as the Labour Party’s executive director of policy under Jeremy Corbyn between 2015 and 2019. He is a columnist at The i Paper
Eliot Wilson: ‘She has run out of road’
When a senior minister cannot say simply and quickly where their primary residence is, any journalist will prick up their ears.
Since the expenses scandal of 2009 ravaged Westminster, MPs’ financial and living arrangements have been a highly sensitive issue. So when it was alleged that Angela Rayner had bought a property in Hove, perhaps minimised the stamp duty she was liable to pay and was on the electoral register in three separate places, it quickly became a headache for the Government.
Everyone agrees she has not broken the law, but she admits that she did not pay stamp duty and blames this on bad advice; she has referred herself to the parliamentary commissioner for standards.
Rayner is expecting sympathy and patience of a kind she never extended to ministers when she was in opposition. Details have had to be dragged out of her. With public trust at record lows, she has run out of road with many people.
Eliot Wilson is a former House of Commons clerk and regular contributor to The i Paper
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