David Vance SubstackRead More
The biggest political question in the UK today is whether other not the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner can survive the day without resigning. I am sure you all the story by now but essentially it all boils down to whether she has been open and honest in her property dealings.
I don’t think she has.
The small conveyancing firm that did her Hove £800,000 house purchase have said that they gave her no tax advice. They are not solicitors and they have no tax expertise. The advisers who set up her trust fund (from where the Hove deposit came) say they were not involved in any aspect of the Hove purchase. The tax barrister who said Rayner underpaid stamp duty was only called in AFTER it became a matter of public controversy.
So from whom did the Deputy PM seek tax advice on the stamp duty she should pay on the Hove home?
Silence.
I listened to the Chancellor Rachel Reeve s try defending Rayner and it didn’t sound at all convincing! Listen to all the hums and errs!
Of course this all comes down to what Starmer decides today. He seemingly wants to keep her but then again she has ambition to succeed him. Somebody within Government has been briefing against her in the background, I wonder who?
If she goes as Deputy PM, she remains as Deputy Leader – as the latter is an elected position. She could of course resign from both roles. If she tries to brazen it out = her preferred style – than she risks damaging the Government even more than this has already done!
This entire issue has been subcontracted to Sir Laurie Magnus, the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests. He is tasked with reviewing whether Rayner breached the ministerial code regarding her underpayment of stamp duty on a £800,000 flat. If he finds against her, she is toast.
If she goes, Starmer will need to move rapidly to replace her with another left of centre politician, preferably female. Who might that be?
On Monday, Starmer told us that his Government had entered “phase two”. I’m not sure there will be many more phases left!
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