Angela Rayner bought an £800,000 flat in Hove and reportedly saved £40,000 in stamp duty by declaring it her main home to tax authorities. She told the local council the property was a second home and pays higher council tax accordingly. No laws are alleged to have been broken, but Conservative politicians have accused her of hypocrisy and requested an investigation by the prime minister's standards adviser. Keir Starmer publicly defended Rayner, expressed pride in her, and warned that undermining her was a mistake. A court order currently restricts Rayner from providing further information, which she is working to rectify.
There is no suggestion she has broken any laws, but the Tories have accused her of hypocrisy and called for an investigation by the PM's standards adviser. Sir Keir told the BBC he was "proud" of his deputy and that "talking her down" was "a big mistake". A spokesperson for Rayner previously said she paid "the relevant duty" owed on the Hove property "entirely properly".
Asked earlier if Sir Keir had confidence in his deputy, the PM's official spokesman told reporters: "Yes, the prime minister works closely with the deputy prime minister... on delivering on the public's priorities. "There is a court order which restricts her from providing further information, which she's urgently working on rectifying in the interests of public transparency."
In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live's Matt Chorley, Sir Keir was asked if Rayner was the victim of a sexist and classist "briefing war", as some of her allies have claimed, or whether she has questions to answer. Defending his deputy, the PM said: "Angela came from a very humble background, battled all sorts of challenges along the way, and there she is proudly - and I'm proud of her - as our deputy prime minister." He described her as a "great story of British success", saying she gave working-class children "a real sense of aspiration".
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