This is not a good look for the Deputy Prime Minister
The Guardian and others report
Angela Rayner has admitted that she underpaid stamp duty on her £800,000 seaside flat, after coming under intense pressure to be more transparent about her property arrangements.
The deputy prime minister has referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics adviser after confirming she will have to pay more of the property tax. She incorrectly paid the lower rate on the apartment in Hove, she said. Experts have said the bill could run to as much as an extra £40,000.
The confirmation that she has underpaid tax could place Rayner’s position in jeopardy as Labour, which is trailing behind Reform UK in the polls, has struggled to convince swathes of the public it is on the side of working people.
The senior Labour figure could also face charges of hypocrisy as the government is expected to increase taxes on property owners in the autumn budget.
This is very damaging for the Deputy Prime Minister given how much she and Labour have made about people and companies not paying enough tax and for the first time I can see Angela Rayner resigning because of her housing arrangements, and all just before PMQs.
I can understand why people may want to lay her in the next PM/Labour leader markets but if she survives this scandal then the people who choose the next Labour leader (and potentially the next PM) will be Labour MPs and Labour activists, will they really care about this?
TSE