Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has owned up about massively underpaying stamp duty on her second home. The seaside flat in Hove, worth some £800k, could now cost her as much as £40,000 extra according to experts.

Angela Rayner: WTF?

Rayner, who also acts as Labour’s secretary of state for housing, admitted that she paid the wrong duty rate after her financial affairs came under intense public scrutiny. She’s now stated that she’ll pay the deficit, and voluntarily referred herself to Starmer’s ethics adviser.

In a statement to the Guardian, Rayner claimed that a court order undertaking had prevented her from coming clean about the stamp duty any sooner. The housing secretary blamed advice she had received from lawyers at the time:

However, given the recent allegations in the press I have subsequently sought further advice from a leading tax counsel to review that position and to ensure I am fully compliant with all tax provisions. I have now been advised that although I did not own any other property at the time of the purchase, the application of complex deeming provisions which relate to my son’s trust gives rise to additional stamp duty liabilities. I acknowledge that due to my reliance on advice from lawyers which did not properly take account of these provisions, I did not pay the appropriate stamp duty at the time of the purchase. I am working with expert lawyers and with HMRC to resolve the matter and pay what is due.

After reflecting on the difficulties of family life and divorce, she ended the statement by adding that she deeply regretted “the error that has been made”.

‘Over and above’

PM Keir Starmer hasn’t indicated whether Angela Rayner will need to stand down if the ethics advisor finds her at fault. However, he was quick to voice support for his deputy minister:

She has explained her personal circumstances in detail. She has gone over and above in setting out the details, including asking the court to lift a confidentiality order in relation to her own son.

I know from speaking at length to the deputy prime minister just how difficult that decision was for her and her family, but she did it. She did it to ensure that all information is in the public domain.

Rayner now finds herself in a deeply difficult position. Headlines have been quick to call her political career into jeopardy. Political rivals, including leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch, are already demanding her resignation.

Certainly, Rayner’s claim that she didn’t know she was underpaying reflects poorly on her expertise as housing secretary. And, given that the autumn budget looks likely to call for increases in property tax, her opponents will surely be quick to point out the glaring hypocrisy.

Featured image via the Canary