LONDON (Reuters): Angela Rayner, the deputy British prime minister, faced growing calls to resign on Wednesday after she admitted to not paying enough tax on a home purchase.
Following weeks of press speculation regarding the tax paid on her purchase of an apartment in Hove, on England’s south coast, Rayner said she has referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards and that she has considered resigning.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer offered his support to Rayner, who is also Britain’s housing minister, as opposition lawmakers demanded that she quit or be sacked.
In a statement, Rayner said a leading tax counsel had informed her she had received inaccurate advice when making the 800,000-pound purchase ($1 million) earlier this summer.
Rayner said she “deeply regrets the error” and is “committed to resolving this matter fully and providing the transparency that public service demands.”
In the U.K., levies are charged on property purchases, with higher charges due on more expensive homes and secondary residences. Reports have suggested that Rayner saved 40,000 pounds by not paying the appropriate levy, known as stamp duty.
A clearly emotional Rayner told Sky News that she had considered resigning over the issue and has now contacted the tax authority, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, to say that there was additional property tax to be paid on the property.
She said complications regarding “complex living arrangements” were stoked by her divorce in 2023 and by the fact that her son has “life-long disabilities” as a result of an injury.
“I’ve been in shock, really, because I thought I’d done everything properly,” she said.
“I relied on the advice that I received and I’m devastated because I’ve always upheld the rules and always have felt proud to do that.”
Rayner, who holds the housing brief in the Labour government, has often railed against those who deliberately underpay tax, and her previous comments have been raised by opponents who accuse her of hypocrisy. Kemi Badenoch, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, said Starmer should sack her.
“For the housing secretary to attempt to game the system for financial gain is unacceptable. Angela Rayner must resign,” said Ben Obese-Jecty, an opposition Conservative member of Parliament.
Starmer defended his deputy during weekly prime minister’s questions in Parliament, adding that he was “very proud to sit alongside” Rayner.
Rayner “has explained her personal circumstances in detail. She’s gone over and above in setting out the details,” Starmer told the House of Commons.
He added he knew “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.”
Rayner left school with no qualifications after becoming pregnant aged 16.
She is a figurehead of Labour’s left wing and regularly tipped to become leader one day.
Starmer’s government has faced a series of scandals, with four ministers forced to resign over wrongdoing since the party was elected just over a year ago. He and Rayner were both criticized early in their term for accepting donations of expensive outfits, a practice they ended.
Last month, Starmer’s minister for homelessness, Rushanara Ali, resigned after she told tenants in a house she owns that they had to leave and then raised the rent sharply – a practice the government was trying to stop.
Mel Stride, the finance chief for the opposition Conservative Party, said it was “extraordinary” that while families and businesses are facing tax hikes, Rayner had not paid the correct rate of tax.
“The deputy prime minister should not be setting the rules when she fails to keep them herself,” he said.
