Sir Keir Starmer Puts Angela Rayner on Notice Over Ministerial Conduct Rules

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has come under scrutiny after it emerged she did not pay a £40,000 tax surcharge on her second home, a £800,000 seaside flat in East Sussex. Rayner referred herself to the ethics watchdog after initially claiming she had done nothing wrong and insisting she had paid the full amount of tax. Her lawyers have denied providing tax advice, but it is understood that the conveyancing firm that acted on her behalf did not advise her she was eligible for a lower rate of stamp duty.

Key Takeaways:

• Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, has been put on notice by Sir Keir Starmer that she may be sacked if she has breached ministerial conduct rules.
• Rayner's lawyers have denied providing tax advice, claiming they are being made "scapegoats" for the ministerial scandal.
• The conveyancing firm that acted on Rayner's behalf when she bought the property did not advise her she was eligible for a lower rate of stamp duty, contradicting claims made by Rayner's team.
• Rayner claimed she believed she was not liable for the second home surcharge because she had sold her stake in her constituency house to a trust set up to benefit her disabled son.
• Dan Neidle, a lawyer and founder of Tax Policy Associates, said it would be "very unusual" for a conveyancer to advise a client on an area as specialized as stamp duty relating to a trust for a disabled child.
• Rayner was investigated and cleared by HM Revenue & Customs last year of failing to pay capital gains tax on the sale of her former council house.
• Magnus, Sir Keir Starmer's independent adviser on ministerial standards, will have to decide whether Rayner's conduct breached the ministerial code, which places an "overarching duty on ministers to comply with the law" and "maintain high standards of behaviour and to behave in a way that upholds the highest standards of propriety".
• Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, insisted Rayner had "tried to do the right thing", while Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, said she had "not been honest with the British public".
• Rayner 'cut corners' by not paying the tax surcharge, according to the allegations.

Statistics:

• £40,000: The amount of tax surcharge on Rayner's second home that she failed to pay.
• £800,000: The price of the seaside flat in East Sussex that Rayner purchased.
• £15,000 - £20,000: The amount of stamp duty land tax Rayner was eligible for, according to experts.
• 1,000: The number of ways Rayner's mistake could have gone wrong if she didn't speak to a tax expert.

Sources:

• The Telegraph, Joanna Verrico, managing director of Verrico and Associates.
• Tax Policy Associates, Dan Neidle.
• HM Revenue & Customs.
• The Cabinet Office.
• The Tory party, Kemi Badenoch.
• The Labour party, Pat McFadden.