'She must resign': Tory Party Chairman says 'liability' Angela Rayner's tax affairs leave her position untenable
The Conservative Party Chairman has called on Angela Rayner to resign saying her tax affairs leave her position untenable.
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Kevin Hollinrake called the Housing Secretary a "liability" after reports emerged she had saved £40,000 in stamp duty on her East Sussex flat by not paying the higher rate reserved for additional home purchases.
Sources close to Ms Rayner said she was given three separate pieces of legal advice before buying an £800,000 flat in Hove.
However, Mr Hollinrake said it "clearly set out on the HMRC website that a house held in a trust on behalf of your children, it counts as a primary home, so any other home would be a second home".
He added: "The point about Angela Rayner is she's been so outspoken, as has Keir Starmer, about the need to pay the right amount of tax and criticised tax avoidance, which is lawfully minimising your tax. But this goes beyond that.
"This is not lawful to do what she has done. She might claim that's a mistake, but given her position in the past, and given the fact that lots of people up and down the country are facing higher taxes as a result of Labour's stewardship of this economy, higher council tax, higher jobs tax and potentially coming down the track, capital gains tax on their dwelling.
"So for the first time, I think a position she can't hold on. She must resign".
Read more: Angela Rayner 'treated very differently' because of her 'accent and background', minister claims
Mr Hollinrake suggested if Ms Rayner does decide to "hang on", she should release her tax documents publicly.
He said: "She's got to now put everything in front of the public, certainly in terms of the front of the Prime Minister, and he's got to ask questions. Did she tell him the truth in terms of the extent of this problem and what she actually knew and was guilty of?"
Sir Keir Starmer and his Cabinet have rallied around Ms Rayner but declined to guarantee her political future after she admitted underpaying stamp duty.
The Prime Minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves gave the Deputy Prime Minister their “full confidence” while Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said she had “sought to be transparent” in the scandal over her tax affairs.
Downing Street has refused to say when Sir Keir was first made aware of key details that led his deputy to refer herself for an ethics investigation in a sign No 10 is trying to limit the scope of the fallout.
