Sir Keir Starmer has dropped a heavy hint that he’s preparing to sack Angela Rayner if as inquiry found she broke ministerial rules by failing to pay £40,000 in stamp duty. The Prime Minister vowed to “act on” the conclusions of his independent adviser’s investigation into his Deputy Prime Minister.
In an interview with the BBC, Sir Keir said: “There’s a clear procedure. I strengthened that procedure. It is now taking place. I am expecting a result pretty quickly. I do want it to be comprehensive, as you’d expect. And then, of course, I will act on whatever the report is that’s put in front of me.”
Asked directly whether he would sack Ms Rayner, Sir Keir said: “Angela Rayner has referred herself to the independent adviser. My experience is he will be comprehensive in the report that he gives me, it will be quick, and that’s what I’m expecting.
“And so I want to let that process take its course. I did strengthen that process, so she’s done the right thing, referred to the independent adviser, and now he will do his work and report back to me.”
Ms Rayner, who is also the Housing Secretary, has been under mounting pressure in recent weeks after reports emerged she had saved £40,000 in stamp duty on her East Sussex flat by not paying the higher rate reserved for additional home purchases.No 10 said Ms Rayner retained Sir Keir’s “full confidence” but declined to commit to her staying in post for the rest of this Parliament – an assurance which has previously been given publicly to Ms Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy amid speculation about their positions.
“I’m not going to go through the Cabinet and do that,” a Downing Street spokesperson said on Thursday.
On Wednesday Ms Rayner admitted she had made a “mistake” and said she referred herself to standards adviser Sir Laurie Magnus after receiving fresh legal advice that she was liable for the extra duty following headlines about the purchase. It is understood the probe could report back as early as Friday.
In a public statement, Ms Rayner said a court-instructed trust was established in 2020 following a settlement with the NHS over a “deeply personal and distressing incident” involving her son.
He was left with life-long disabilities and to ensure he continued to have stability in the family home in Greater Manchester, she said her family had agreed its interest in that property would be transferred to the trust.
She said she had put her stake in the constituency home in Ashton-under-Lyne into this trust, which a “leading tax counsel” had later told her made her liable to pay the additional stamp duty on her new Hove flat.
Details about the complex arrangements continued to emerge on Thursday, when the Telegraph reported Ms Rayner had sold her remaining stake to the trust for £162,500, which the paper suggested had then been used to buy her new flat.
The Conservatives have written to HMRC calling for it to launch its own investigation on whether she tried to evade tax, with party chairman Kevin Hollinrake saying her explanation “cannot withstand scrutiny”.
Losing the Deputy Prime Minister would cause a headache for Sir Keir as he seeks to reset Government following a difficult summer dominated by criticism of the small boats crisis and speculation about tax rises in the autumn budget.
She is key to his political project, overseeing the manifesto pledge to build 1.5 million new homes as well as Labour’s flagship workers’ rights expansion.
Widely seen a bridge between the No 10 operation and the wider party, she is popular among the grassroots and said to have played an important role in defusing the backbench revolt over proposed welfare cuts earlier this year.
Some Labour MPs have expressed hope that she will be able to remain in post, with one saying she was “doing a good job and everyone recognises she brings a perspective we need to the top team”.
Left-leaning Norwich South MP Clive Lewis, who has previously criticised the Government over policies like the backing of the Heathrow Airport expansion, said he did not think Ms Rayner should consider quitting.
He told the PA news agency: “I know Angela well enough to say with confidence that she is scrupulous when it comes to following the rules.”
He said there were “legal constraints” on how much she can disclose and that she has already done the “responsible thing” in referring herself to the ethics adviser, adding: “For those reasons, I don’t believe she should be considering her position.”