The Labour deputy leader removed her name from the deeds of her house in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, only weeks before purchasing the flat on the south coast…reports Asian Lite News
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is facing fresh scrutiny over her property arrangements after it emerged she saved around £40,000 in stamp duty on the purchase of an £800,000 seaside flat in Hove, East Sussex.
According to a report in The Telegraph, the Labour deputy leader removed her name from the deeds of her house in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, only weeks before purchasing the flat on the south coast. The move allowed her to designate the Hove property as her primary residence for stamp duty purposes, thereby avoiding the £70,000 levy that applies to second homes. Instead, she is understood to have paid just £30,000 in duty.
While the arrangement is not illegal, critics say it raises questions over whether Rayner deliberately structured her property affairs to minimise her tax burden.
The controversy deepens because Rayner has declared different properties as her main residence for different purposes. For stamp duty, the Hove flat appears to have been listed as her primary home. For council tax, however, she informed Tameside Council that her Ashton-under-Lyne address remains her principal residence, while Brighton and Hove Council has been told the seaside apartment is a second home.
Such discrepancies have drawn attention to the complexities of her living arrangements. Sources close to Rayner insist that her constituency property in Greater Manchester is her “primary residence” for council tax purposes, allowing her to avoid additional liabilities on her grace-and-favour flat in Admiralty House, central London. That property, provided to ministers, is officially treated as her second home, with the bill covered by the taxpayer.
The issue touches a particularly sensitive political nerve. The stamp duty surcharge on second homes was first introduced by the Conservative government in 2016. Last year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves raised the rate further in an effort to curb property speculation and increase Treasury revenues.
Rayner now finds herself accused by opponents of benefiting from arrangements that Labour has otherwise pledged to tighten. The Conservatives allege that she has manipulated her housing status to reduce her personal liability, even while championing higher property taxes for others.
Kevin Hollinrake, Conservative Party chairman, said: “Her three electoral registrations are a sham, cooked up to help her dodge council tax. She wants higher taxes on family homes but doesn’t want to pay it herself. As the minister responsible for both election law and council tax, ‘three votes Rayner’ cannot be a law-maker and a law-breaker.”
The row has intensified with Tory attempts to have Rayner struck off the electoral roll in Ashton-under-Lyne. They claim she does not meet the legal requirements to be registered there, arguing that her multiple declarations cannot be justified.
Under the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001, any elector can challenge a registration if they believe it to be invalid. Should Rayner be removed from the Ashton roll, it could undermine her claim that the constituency home is her main residence. This in turn might leave her personally liable for the council tax on Admiralty House, estimated at around £2,000 annually, which is currently met by the Government at double that rate due to its designation as a second home.
The Tories argue that while MPs and students are permitted to maintain two residences, there is no precedent for three registrations where one property is not consistently occupied.
Rayner’s team has firmly rejected allegations of wrongdoing. A spokesperson said: “The Deputy Prime Minister paid the correct duty owed on the purchase, entirely properly and in line with all relevant requirements. Any suggestion otherwise is entirely without basis.”
Labour sources also point out that many Conservative MPs have themselves registered second homes for allowances and tax purposes. They describe the Tory complaint as politically motivated and hypocritical.
Supporters argue that Rayner’s circumstances are shaped by her professional demands and family situation. She maintains a base in Ashton-under-Lyne, where her children live with her ex-husband Mark Rayner. She spends significant time in London for ministerial duties and has now bought the Hove flat, partly due to her partner Sam Tarry’s connections to the area.
Her allies emphasise that she has never owned property in London, which they say justifies her decision to purchase on the south coast. They note that she pays the second homes council tax premium on the Hove flat, which is consistent with her declaration to the local authority.
Further intrigue surrounds recent changes to the Land Registry. Official records note that applications are pending in relation to her Ashton-under-Lyne home, though these have not yet been made public. It is understood that the variation was lodged before she completed the Hove purchase on 1 May this year.
Under existing rules, second-home buyers who subsequently sell their first property within three years can reclaim the stamp duty surcharge. Rayner’s advisers suggest this provision also reflects the complexities of her position, given her multiple working locations.
The outcome of the Conservative challenge to her electoral registration could prove decisive. If successful, it would weaken her claim that Ashton-under-Lyne is her primary home and could force her to assume personal responsibility for the Admiralty House council tax bill.
Tameside Council has said it considers “time spent at the property, both in length and regularity of visit” as well as electoral registration in deciding an individual’s main residence.
For now, Rayner continues to insist she has followed all advice, complied with the rules and paid all necessary taxes. But the controversy is unlikely to abate, with political opponents eager to press home accusations of double standards against one of Labour’s most senior figures.
