Jeremy Corbyn has blasted Angela Rayner over her tax row, in a brutal blow from her former close ally. The former Labour leader has emerged to demand Ms Rayner spend more time focussing on the country’s housing crisis, and less on buying up multiple homes.
Mr Corbyn slammed: “I do think that she made an enormous mistake there and it’s a real problem for her and for Keir Starmer. Clearly somebody advised her she didn’t need to pay and somebody else advised her she did. Well, that’s a bit odd to me. I mean, if you buy a place, you have to pay stamp duty, end off.”
The ‘Your Party’ leader did not directly comment on whether her position as Housing Secretary or Deputy Prime Minister remains tenable when asked by ITV.
Mr Corbyn said the question of her political future is “up to Keir Starmer and her to decide”.
He said: “I don’t know what they’re going to do. I’m not in the Labour Party party. What I want, though, is a government that’s going to do something about housing policies in this country and not sort of obsess themselves about second homes.”
He was also questioned about the new Green Party leader Zack Polanski, and whether his new upstart party with Zarah Sultana would be interested in an electoral pact with their hard-left comrades.
Mr Corbyn complimented the new Green leader insisting there will be “cooperation” between left-wing alternatives to Labour.
However he slapped down the Greens, insisting his new movement with Ms Sultana is “a different and much smaller organisation than we are.
“Ours is a much more socialist orientated, more left wing approach, if you like, than some of the Green members. Not all. Not all Green members.”
He also slammed Nigel Farage as “a real danger” creating “horrible schisms and divisions within our society”.
Ms Rayner’s political career is hanging on by a thread today after she confessed to underpaying stamp duty on her second home by up to £40,000.
She has referred herself to the PM’s ethics adviser and confirmed she will pay as much as £40,000 in owed taxes.
After weeks of her allies insisted she had done nothing wrong, Ms Rayner finally owned up in a highly emotional interview yesterday.
At PMQs, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch called on Keir Starmer to ‘grow a backbone’ and “sack her”.