Rayner’s lawyers: ‘We are being made scapegoats’ September 4, 2025 The law firm used by under-fire Angela Rayner for the purchase of an £800,000 flat in Hove say that they have been made “scapegoats” and did not give the Deputy Prime Minister any tax advice. In a statement issued to The Telegraph, Joanna Verrico, managing director of the family-run firm, said that their procedure is [...]
Starmer refuses to say he’ll sack Rayner if she broke ministerial code September 4, 2025 Keir Starmer has refused to confirm that he would sack Angela Rayner as housing secretary – and deputy PM- even if the government’s ethics adviser finds that she has broken the ministerial code. In an interview with the BBC, Starmer said he would “make a decision on what I see” in a report expected to [...]
The real villain in the Angela Rayner saga: stamp duty September 4, 2025 Labour has launched a patronising defence of Angela Rayner for her “working class” background. They should be gunning for a different target: the insidious tax that’s caused her so much trouble, says Alys Denby Being working class is, if you’re to believe the Labour front bench, a reasonable excuse for tax avoidance. Keir Starmer stood [...]
Watch: Reeves fights back against critics ‘talking rubbish’ September 4, 2025 It’s not just Angela Rayner who finds herself on the defensive; Rachel Reeves has come out fighting – claiming many of her critics are talking rubbish. Who could she be talking about? Imagine returning from your summer break to find that your boss has poached your deputy and hired a brace of advisers to advise [...]
If Rayner survives she’ll be much diminished September 4, 2025 Politically, this is fish in a barrel stuff. If you’re on the record saying that “every pound of tax that’s not delivered to the Chancellor of the Exchequer means that it damages our public services” [sic] and you’ve taken aim at your political opponents by claiming that “it’s one rule for them and one rule [...]
Angela Rayner on the brink: Deputy PM underpaid stamp duty on purchase of £800,000 property September 3, 2025 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. A spokesperson for Keir Starmer has refused to confirm the date Rayner informed the Prime Minister about her tax dealings, raising questions on when he found out about new tax [...]
Starmer ‘proud to sit alongside’ Rayner despite stamp duty row September 3, 2025 Keir Starmer said he was “very proud to sit alongside” Angela Rayner as the deputy prime minister referred to herself to the standards watchdog over unpaid stamp duty on her second home. Minutes before PMQs began, Angela Rayner admitted she failed to pay the right amount of stamp duty tax on her second home. Rayner [...]
Angela Rayner: People in tax-dodge houses shouldn’t throw stones September 3, 2025 Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner will be lucky to survive this latest tax-dodging property scandal, writes James Ford If you are a government minister there are always a number of key warnings that your frontbench career is on the brink. The first stage of your fall from grace is when your fellow ministers end up [...]
Angela Rayner under pressure to clarify property questions amid hypocrisy accusations September 1, 2025 Angela Rayner is facing mounting scrutiny over her property portfolio, with accusations that she avoided £40,000 in stamp duty and questions around a house valuation in her constituency. These suggestions are made more embarrassing by her dual roles as deputy prime minister and housing secretary. The Times has reported on the “remarkable coincidence” that, at [...]
Conservatives call for ethics probe into Angela Rayner’s tax affairs August 30, 2025 Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner should face an ethics inquiry over her tax affairs, the Conservatives have said. The Telegraph newspaper claimed that Rayner, who is also the Housing Secretary, saved £40,000 in stamp duty on a second home she bought in Hove for £800,000. This was because she removed her name from the deed [...]