Rayner allies defend third home after giving councils powers to hike tax on second properties
Angela Rayner's allies have defended the Housing Secretary's purchase of an £800,000 seaside flat after she gave councils the power to hike tax on second homes.
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The Deputy Prime Minister's new pad in Hove, near Brighton, is in addition to the £650,000 home she owns in her Greater Manchester constituency, which is said to be her primary residence.
Sources close to Ms Rayner told the Telegraph that she would be using the three-bed flat in Hove as a base while working in London despite having access to grace-and-favour flat in Admiralty House in the capital.
A Labour MP told GB News that the Housing Secretary's living arrangements were not relevant to the Government's housing pledges.
Catherine Aitkinson MP told the broadcaster: “What is important is that we are building the 1.5 million homes that this country needs and that this Government is taking clear steps to do.
"I’m not really sure that Angela Rayner’s housing situation is particularly relevant to that.”
Ms Rayner is understood to be keeping the property empty for more than half the year as she does not intend to rent it out.
Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said: “One rule for this condescending hypocritical Labour minister, and a totally different set of rules for the hard-pressed taxpaying silent majority of Britain.”
The purchase comes after her Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government gave councils the right to levy an extra 100% on top of council tax for second homes.
Allies told the Telegraph that Rayner's property is liable for the hike and it will be paid in full.
The measure is intended to allow tourist hotspots like Hove to clamp down on sky-high property prices which risk displacing locals in favour of out-of-town residents.
Ms Rayner was spotted enjoying the beach near her new property for the first time last week, drinking a glass of rose wine while in a Dryrobe.
After a political row last year concerning her council tax arrangements earlier in her political career, opposition figures are calling for Ms Rayner to be transparent following the purchase.
Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly said: "Angela Rayner is responsible for housing policy, yet she won't even be straight about her own.
"Time and again she's been asked to declare exactly what properties she owns and where she pays council tax, and time and again she's dodged those questions."