Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has referred herself to the standards watchdog after she admitted to underpaying stamp duty on her second home in Hove.
Now, a spokesperson for Sir Keir Starmer has refused to confirm the date Rayner informed the Prime Minister about her tax dealings.
Rayner said she was able to speak up after a court order that had prevented her from revealing details about her complex property affairs was lifted on Tuesday night.
The purchase of her seaside flat in East Sussex, which cost around £800,000, led to an underpayment in tax, an error she said she “deeply regretted”.
Controversy over Rayner’s tax affairs come as the government looks set to reform taxes on home-owners in an effort to raise at least £20bn in extra revenue.
In a statement, Rayner said she was working with tax experts and HMRC to review her dealings as she transferred assets in the aftermath of her 2023 divorce.
“I deeply regret the error that has been made,” she said.
“I am committed to resolving this matter fully and providing the transparency that public service demands.”
Politically awkward revelation
The situation is particularly awkward for Rayner, given her role as housing secretary, in advance of a number of likely contentious tax changes.
Rumours of property tax reform at the Budget – confirmed to be held on 26 November – are swirling, with a possible capital gains tax on the sale of homes over £1.5m and a levy on landlords’ income on the table.
And the Chancellor is reportedly considering replacing stamp duty with a new national property tax.
Rayner’s underpayment meant she owed as much as £40,000 to the taxman, according to The Guardian.
In an interview with Sky News, the deputy prime minister said she was “devastated” as she had made a decision based on erroneous advice.
A row over her tax affairs first broke out in 2024, with recent weeks throwing a spotlight on her second home, her voting registration and tax avoidance tactics.
Front and centre at PMQs
Sir Keir Starmer said Angela Rayner has “gone over and above in setting out the details”, after revelations broke just before Prime Minister’s Questions that the deputy prime minister failed to pay enough stamp duty on a property.
Rayner has referred herself to the standards watchdog over her purchase of the £800,000 flat in Hove – an error which she says she “deeply regretted”.
Kemi Badenoch asked Starmer, “Why is she still in office?”
The PM said: “I know from speaking at length with the Deputy Prime Minister, 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.
“I can be clear, I am very proud to sit alongside a Deputy Prime Minister who is building 1.5m homes, who is bringing the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights for a generation, and has come from a working class background to be Deputy Prime Minister.”
In a post on X, Badenoch said: “If Keir Starmer had a backbone, he’d sack Angela Rayner immediately. She has to go.”