Labour MPs were turning on their ‘Red Queen’ Angela Rayner today after she admitted not paying enough stamp duty on her new seaside flat.
The Deputy Prime Minister is under pressure to resign – if she’s not sacked by Sir Keir Starmer – over the mishandling of her purchase of an £800,000 apartment in Hove, East Sussex.
The 45-year-old, who is also the Housing Secretary, is said to have saved £40,000 in stamp duty on the property.
This is because she removed her name from the deeds of a family home in her constituency of Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester.
The changes supposedly allowed Ms Rayner to pay £30,000 in stamp duty instead of £70,000, which would have been applied if the Hove flat was designated as a second home.
But the Deputy PM this morning admitted she was, in fact, liable for additional stamp duty and she ‘did not pay the appropriate stamp duty at the time of the purchase’.
In a tearful TV interview, a ‘devastated’ Ms Rayner said she ‘deeply regrets’ the error as she faces the likelihood of an HMRC probe into her property affairs.
She also revealed she has referred herself to a Westminster ethics watchdog to separately investigate whether she has broken ministerial rules.
Yet pressure is growing on Sir Keir Starmer to immediately remove Ms Rayner from his Government – in which she also serves as Housing Secretary – rather than wait for the results of the Whitehall inquiry into her tax blunder.
The Tories said it was ‘utterly extraordinary’ that Ms Rayner had failed to pay enough stamp duty, following Labour’s tax hikes since winning power last year.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch called on Sir Keir to show a ‘backbone’ and sack his Deputy PM as they clashed at Prime Minister’s Questions this afternoon.
James Cleverly, the Conservative shadow housing secretary, said Ms Rayner’s credibility was ‘in tatters’ and that her actions ‘reek of hypocrisy’ following her years of decrying ‘tax dodgers’ as one of Labour’s most senior figures.
It also comes amid recent reports that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering a swathe of new property taxes at her upcoming Budget, as she looks to plug a £50billion hole in the public finances.
One tax expert suggested Ms Rayner could end up having to pay thousands of pounds more to HMRC – in addition to the owed stamp duty – due to ‘carelessness’ penalties.
Dan Neidle, founder of the Tax Policy Associates think tank, said: ‘If Ms Rayner took proper advice and followed it, but the advice was wrong, then she’ll have to pay the stamp duty, plus interest.
‘But if she didn’t take appropriate advice, she could face ‘carelessness’ penalties, probably around 30 per cent.’
If Ms Rayner owes £40,000 in extra stamp duty, those penalties could be as much as £12,000.
In a tearful TV interview, a ‘devastated’ Angela Rayner revealed she has referred herself to an ethics watchdog to investigate whether she had broken ministerial rules
The Deputy Prime Minister said she ‘deeply regrets’ not paying enough stamp duty when purchasing her £800,000 apartment in Hove, East Sussex
Ms Rayner was supported by Sir Keir at Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons this afternoon, as Tory leader Kemi Badenoch demanded her sacking
Downing Street insisted Sir Keir has ‘full confidence’ in Ms Rayner, but refused to answer questions about whether it was right for her to remain as Housing Secretary.
There were signs of a revolt against Ms Rayner, who has been the party’s deputy leader since 2020, among Labour MPs over her tax row.
‘I think she might survive but whether she should is a different matter,’ one Labour MP told The Telegraph.
‘The accusation is a very, very serious one and we’re not talking about a couple of hundred of quid.
‘It takes some people in my area two or three years to earn £40,000. I think it’ll run pretty deep with the public.
‘She’s given a reasonable story about her family and everything else but I don’t think people will hear that.
‘They’ll just hear the business of not paying tax, more money than people will earn in several years.
‘She said she had thought about resigning, and she should give that some more thought now.’
It came after Ms Rayner revealed how she had told HMRC she owes more tax on her property purchase, adding that she is ‘prepared’ to stump up the extra cash.
The embattled Deputy PM also admitted she had discussed resigning from her Government role with her family, amid days of intense scrutiny over her property affairs.
She pointed to a court order that had previously prevented her from disclosing further information about her housing arrangements, but said this had been lifted last night.
Ms Rayner described how her son has ‘life-long disabilities’ and that her interest in her family home in Greater Manchester had been transferred to a ‘court-instructed trust’ during her divorce from her ex-husband in 2023.
The Deputy PM has referred herself to Sir Laurie Magnus, who is Sir Keir’s independent adviser on ministers’ interests.
Downing Street dodged saying whether Ms Rayner would be expected to resign if Sir Laurie found she had breached the ministerial code of conduct.
No10 also batted away claims that Sir Keir had misled the public earlier this week when he launched a fulsome defence of the Deputy PM.
In a radio interview on Monday, the PM suggested Ms Rayner had been the victim of a briefing war and that it was a ‘mistake’ to brief against her.
Dan Neidle, founder of the Tax Policy Associates think tank, suggested Ms Rayner could end up having to pay thousands of pounds more to HMRC
The Deputy PM has been accused of 'hypocrisy' over the stamp duty row as she has repeatedly hit out at 'tax dodgers' during her years as an MP in the House of Commons.
This included calling for Nadhim Zahawi to be sacked as Tory chairman in 2023 following the revelation that his tax affairs were under investigation by HMRC.
Sir Keir was also among those to have demanded Mr Zahawi's departure, telling MPs at the time: 'Anybody watching would think it is fairly obvious that someone who seeks to avoid tax cannot also be in charge of tax.'
Ms Rayner is said to have saved £40,000 in stamp duty on the Hove apartment because she removed her name from the deeds of a family property in her constituency of Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester.
The deed changes supposedly allowed the Deputy PM to pay £30,000 in stamp duty instead of £70,000, which would have been applied if the Hove property was designated as a second home.
But the Hove flat is not her 'main residence' for council tax purposes, with the Ashton-under-Lyne home remaining her primary residence.
This is said to save some £2,000 in council tax on her third home, a three-bedroom grace-and-favour flat in Admiralty House.
Sources close to Ms Rayner have said she still considers the Ashton-under-Lyne home her primary residence because it's where her children live and she regularly returns there.
Ms Rayner was backed by Sir Keir at Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons this afternoon.
As she sat alongside the PM on the Government front bench ahead of the session, Sir Keir placed a supportive hand on Ms Rayner's shoulder.
Ms Rayner also received a hug from Commons Leader Lucy Powell.
During PMQs, Sir Keir said he was 'very proud' to sit alongside Ms Rayner as he faced calls to sack his Deputy PM from Mrs Badenoch.
He told MPs that Ms Rayner had 'explained her personal circumstances in detail'.
'She's gone over and above in setting out the details, including yesterday afternoon asking a court to lift the confidentiality order in relation to her own son,' the PM added.
'I know from speaking at length with the Deputy PM, just how difficult that decision was for her and her family, but she did it to ensure that all the information is in the public domain.'
Ms Badenoch said: 'I'm not sure we would have heard all that sympathy if it was a Conservative deputy prime minister who had underpaid her tax.
She told Sir Keir: 'If he had a backbone he would sack her.'
Tory shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride tweeted: 'It's utterly extraordinary that while working families and businesses are being hammered by Labour's tax hikes, Angela Rayner has failed to pay the right amount of stamp duty.
'The Deputy Prime Minister should not be setting the rules when she fails to keep them herself.'
Sir Mel took a further swipe at Ms Rayner as he opened an Opposition Day debate in the Commons later, asserting that if she wants to make the rules then 'she should live by them'.
'If (Ms Rayner) wants to make the rules, she should live by them,' he told MPs.
'And that will be a message which will go out to businesses and families right up and down this country.
'There is no way that they can avoid the juggernaut of taxes that are coming down the track.'
Mr Cleverly, the shadow housing secretary, said Ms Rayner's credibility was now 'in tatters', adding: 'She's dodged questions all summer, her actions reek of hypocrisy. Starmer is too weak to kick her out.
Mr Tice, the Reform deputy leader, said 'no one would have screamed and hollered louder' than Ms Rayner, if one of Labour's political opponents had admitted underpaying tax.
He told Sky News: 'Morally her position was always completely indefensible. What she's done is blame everybody else but herself.
'She's blamed the legal advice, she's drawn in the complications of a court order.
'It was obvious; you cannot claim you've got two main residences in different parts of the country hundreds of miles apart.
'It's right that she pays the correct amount of tax, I would expect that a penalty may well be imposed.
'But if she had any integrity, any moral decency, given her position as Deputy PM, she would offer her resignation to the PM.'
Mr Farage told the Telegraph: 'I don't see how Angela Rayner can survive this.'
The PMQs exchanges on Wednesday afternoon came half an hour after the Deputy PM gave an emotional TV interview, while also releasing a statement to admit she had underpaid tax.
Ms Rayner said she had been 'in shock' and 'devastated' over the fallout from the row over her property arrangements.
Asked whether she had considered resigning, the Deputy PM told Sky News: 'I've been in shock, really, because I thought I'd done everything properly.
'And I relied on the advice that I received and I'm devastated because I've always upheld the rules and always have done.
'And always felt proud to do that. I feel, you know, that it is devastating for me and the fact that the reason why those confidential clauses were in place was to protect my son, who, through no fault of his own, he's vulnerable, he's got this life-changing, lifelong conditions and I don't want him or anything to do with his day-to-day life, to be subjected to that level of scrutiny because it's his and my ex-husband that is… it's not fair on them.
'Often my family dragged in because of what my role is and what I do.
'But I try to uphold the high standards, and that's why I've referred myself so that the independent advice can look at everything.'
Pressed again on whether she had considered standing down, she said she had 'spoken to my family about it' and 'the number one priority for me and my ex-husband has always been to support our children and do the best thing for our children'.
Mrs Badenoch called on Sir Keir to show a 'backbone' and sack his Deputy PM as they clashed at PMQs
Tory shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said it was 'utterly extraordinary' that Ms Rayner had failed to pay enough tax on her property purchase
The Conservatives flagged previous attacks by Ms Rayner on the tax affairs of political opponents
Ms Rayner said she had 'alerted and referred' herself to Sir Laurie, the independent adviser on the ministerial code, 'as soon as' she learned she had been liable to pay additional stamp duty.
The Deputy PM said she had taken legal advice on buying the flat in Hove which suggested she was 'liable to pay standard stamp duty' but had then sought 'expert counsel advice' following media reporting about the arrangement, and learned that she was liable to pay additional stamp duty.
She told Sky News: 'As soon as I knew that that was the case, I have alerted and referred myself to the independent adviser on the ministerial code to ensure that they can look transparently at what has happened, and also contacted HMRC to say that, there is additional tax owing on this, and that I'm prepared to pay that and fully comply with the HMRC as well.'
Asked whether the accusations that she had underpaid stamp duty were correct, she said: 'They are accurate. Yes.
'Accurate in a different sense. 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.'
She admitted she had made a 'mistake', adding: 'People make mistakes, but I conducted myself in trying to do the right thing, and I hope that people can see that.'
Last week, Ms Rayner's office strongly disputed any notion she had 'dodged' paying stamp duty or any suggestion of impropriety.
A spokesperson for Ms Rayner had said: 'The Deputy PM paid the relevant duty owing on the purchase of the Hove property in line with relevant requirements and entirely properly, any suggestion otherwise is entirely without basis.'
Downing Street on Wednesday declined to say when Sir Keir was told about Ms Rayner's realisation that she had underpaid stamp duty on her Hove flat.
Sir Keir's official spokesman referred reporters to the Deputy PM's statement when pressed on the timeline of when she found out she had not paid enough tax or informed her boss.
The official also did not say whether Sir Keir had seen the legal advice obtained by his deputy.
Evading questions on whether Ms Rayner should pay a fine, the spokesman said: 'She will work with lawyers and HMRC, she says in her statement, to resolve the issue and pay what is due.'
The official added that Sir Keir 'supports people paying what is due'.
No10 also declined to 'get ahead' of Sir Laurie's investigation into Ms Rayner's tax affairs when asked whether she would be expected to resign if found to have breached ministerial rules.
Sir Keir's spokesman said: 'As you'd expect, we're not going to get ahead of the process.
'As she's set out in her statement today, she's referred herself to the independent adviser. She will provide him with her fullest co-operation and access to all the information he requires.
'It is now up to the independent adviser to conduct that process.'
He added: 'The independent adviser will advise the Prime Minister on next steps. He will provide information to the Prime Minister as part of that process. But I'm not going to get ahead of that.'
The official said it was up to the independent adviser when asked how long the probe might take.
Downing Street denied Sir Keir had misled the public by saying Ms Rayner had endured 'people briefing against her' which was a 'mistake'.
Asked whether the PM had been misleading in his response to questions about her tax affairs in an interview with BBC 5 Live on Monday, his official spokesman said: 'No.
'You've got his words in the House… she's explained her circumstances extensively.'
No10 was repeatedly asked to set out the timeline of events and when Sir Keir had first been made aware that Ms Rayner had underpaid stamp duty but did not do so, saying there is a 'process underway' to establish what had happened.
'I don't have any more information beyond what's in her statement,' the PM's spokesman said.
Pressure is growing on Sir Keir to remove Ms Rayner from his Government, in which she also serves as Housing Secretary
Ms Rayner's new flat in Hove is not her 'main residence' for council tax purposes, with the Ashton-under-Lyne home remaining her primary residence
Ms Rayner has repeatedly hit out at 'tax dodgers' during her years as an MP.
In November 2017, she praised then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for raising the 'tax dodging issue' during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons.
'The public are furious with those who get away with tax avoidance while they pay!,' she tweeted.
In March 2021, Ms Rayner attacked then-chancellor Rishi Sunak's extension of a stamp duty holiday on the first £500,000 of all property sales.
She claimed at the time it would be 'a massive tax cut for wealthy second home owners and landlords'.
Ms Rayner added on social media: 'Rishi Sunak will hand half a billion pounds to landlords and second homeowners by extending the stamp duty holiday.
'Meanwhile, he is refusing to give our NHS and social care heroes the pay rise they deserve.'
When the stamp duty cut was first introduced by the previous Conservative government, in an attempt to boost property sales during the Covid crisis, Ms Rayner warned the move had 'inflated the housing market and provided a tax giveaway worth thousands for wealthy homeowners'.
In April 2018, Ms Rayner blasted a 'Tory tax loophole' amid claims the then-health secretary Jeremy Hunt saved almost £100,000 in stamp duty on his purchase of seven flats.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey 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.
'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 PM was thinking about the same thing here.
'Perhaps now is a good time to talk about how we look after disabled people and how we can build a more caring country.'
An HMRC spokesman said: 'We cannot comment on individuals due to taxpayer confidentiality law.'