Prime Minister Keir Starmer is standing firmly behind his deputy, Angela Rayner, after she admitted failing to pay £40,000 in tax on the purchase of a seaside property.
After weeks of speculation surrounding her financial affairs, Rayner conceded that she had underpaid stamp duty on her £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex. The admission has triggered a political storm, with critics demanding her removal from government.
Despite the mounting pressure, Starmer is reportedly determined to shield his deputy. He has vowed not to give his opponents a “scalp” and insists that he has genuine sympathy for Rayner’s situation. Senior allies of the prime minister, however, stressed that her political future rests on the outcome of an independent ethics investigation.
Rayner has voluntarily referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, who is expected to interview her in the coming days as part of the probe.
The deputy prime minister had faced intense scrutiny after reports surfaced that she avoided £40,000 in stamp duty by removing her name from the deeds of a family home in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency. This move allowed her to classify the Hove flat as her only property, despite reportedly still spending time at the family house.
In a statement on Wednesday, Rayner said she had initially taken legal advice at the time of purchase, which suggested she was “liable to pay standard stamp duty.” However, following widespread headlines, she sought “further advice from a leading tax counsel,” which cast doubt on the accuracy of her initial legal guidance.
Calls for her resignation have grown louder, with Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch openly urging the prime minister to sack his deputy.
“I remember when the prime minister said tax evasion is a criminal offence, and should be treated as all other fraud. If he had a backbone, he would sack her.”
Kemi Badenoch
At Prime Minister’s Questions, however, Starmer strongly defended Rayner. He told MPs he was “very proud to sit alongside” her and praised her decision to submit herself to scrutiny by the independent adviser.
Independent Adviser To Decide Rayner’s Fate
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson struck a more cautious tone, refusing to endorse Rayner’s continuation in office while the probe remains ongoing. “We have an independent process and an independent adviser… I’m not going to prejudge it,” she said.
Phillipson emphasised that Sir Laurie Magnus must be given the time and resources necessary to fully examine the facts.
Rayner, who also serves as housing secretary, has maintained that she acted in good faith and believed she had met her obligations. She stressed that her actions were based on professional legal advice, though she now accepts that an error occurred.
In an interview on Wednesday, she expressed her distress over the controversy. Rayner said she had been “in shock” and “devastated” since learning of the mistake. She denied deliberately avoiding tax, saying the underpayment was the result of a misinterpretation of legal guidance.
“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.”
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner
As such, Rayner’s fate hinges on the conclusions of the ethics adviser. While Starmer remains supportive, the political risks are mounting, with both opposition and internal party figures pressing for a decisive resolution.
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