Labour Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has been branded a hypocrite for buying an £800,000 seaside property despite her own department’s crackdown on second homes and her claim to be a socialist. The Mail has more.
Labour’s Housing Secretary has been dubbed ‘Three Pads Rayner’ after it emerged that she had shelled out £800,000 on a luxury flat in Hove, East Sussex.
She is said by neighbours to have bought the “biggest and nicest flat” in the Victorian terrace block, with sea views and celebrity neighbours, and has been spotted sipping wine on the beach as well as taking to the water in a kayak.
The 45 year-old Deputy Prime Minister already owns a large family property in her Greater Manchester constituency and has use of a grace-and-favour apartment in historic Admiralty House in Westminster.
Yet one of her junior Ministers has repeatedly hit out at the damage caused by the wealthy buying up boltholes for themselves or to rent out in popular areas, pricing locals out of the market.
Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook has spoken in Parliament about the “negative impacts of excessive concentrations of short-term lets and second homes”, which affect “local services” as well as “the availability and affordability of homes for local residents to buy and rent”.
And he has told MPs that the Housing Department – which has already given town halls the power to double council tax on second homes – wants to “give local communities more power to tackle some of those problems”.
Ms Rayner herself has declared that Britain is in “the middle of the most acute housing crisis in living memory”, while Sir Keir Starmer has warned that second homes “can impact the availability and affordability” of local properties.
Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice blasted: “Rayner is the Everest of hypocrisy. She laments a housing shortage, wants to soak the rich, whilst selfishly building her own property mountain.”
Senior Tory Dame Priti Patel added: “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 Conservatives – who have been asking Ms Rayner for months which of her first two properties was designated as her primary residence for council tax purposes – said she still had questions to answer.
They asked if she had saved money on her council tax bills by changing her primary residence over the past year, and if she had ever claimed a single-person discount on her taxpayer-funded property.
Tory housing spokesman James Cleverly said: “Until she gives full and consistent answers, the public will be left wondering what exactly she has been trying to hide.
“If Labour want to tax family homes more than ever, the very least the public deserve is transparency from the minister in charge. Right now, it looks like one rule for Angela Rayner, and another for everyone else.”
A Labour MP also faced questions about whether it was a “good look” for self-avowed socialist Ms Rayner to have the use of three properties when many are struggling to get on the housing ladder.
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: The council tax on Rayner’s grace-and-favour London apartment is being footed by the taxpayer as she has designated her primary residence as her house in Ashton-under-Lyme, 200 miles away, even though she works fulltime in London. The Telegraph has the story.
See Related Article Below
Public foots Rayner’s tax bill on grace-and-favour home
Tories accuse Deputy PM of ‘staggering hypocrisy’ over property taxes, following controversy over her £800k third home in Hove
The council tax due on Angela Rayner’s grace-and-favour home in central London is being paid by the public.
The bill for Ms Rayner’s flat in Admiralty House is covered by the taxpayer because it is designated as a second home, The Telegraph can disclose.
Ms Rayner has listed a property in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency as her primary residence, even though this is around 200 miles away from her office in London.
It means she treats her ministerial apartment in Admiralty House, a Grade I-listed building in Whitehall, as a second home. If she classed the London property as her primary residence, she would be liable to pay council tax on it.
However, because she says it is her second home, the bill of £2,034 a year is covered by the Government. This is expected to double to £4,068 under a new premium on second homes that came into force in April.
‘Staggering hypocrisy’
The Tories accused ministers of a “cover-up” over Ms Rayner’s tax affairs and cast doubt over claims that Ashton-under-Lyne is her primary residence, given her role at the heart of the Government in London.
Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative Party chairman, said: “It is staggering hypocrisy for the Deputy Prime Minister to push punitive new taxes on family homes while apparently avoiding those same taxes herself. One rule for Rayner, another for everyone else.
“There are now serious questions about the role of Government ministers in this apparent cover-up. Why were these tax perks not disclosed honestly to Parliament?
“And with the revelation of a third property in Hove for weekend use, it is only right to ask whether Admiralty House should in fact be treated as her primary residence and whether she owes the tax liabilities that come with it.”
Fresh controversy erupted over Ms Rayner’s properties this week when it emerged she had bought a third home – an £800,000 seafront property in Hove, East Sussex.
She finally confirmed that her primary residence was in Ashton-under-Lyne, near Manchester, to provide clarity over her tax liabilities. However, this has triggered fresh questions over her working arrangements as a Cabinet minister, given the 200-mile journey to London.
Until December, Ms Rayner rented a property in London to use while working in the capital. Her costs for this were put on expenses, in line with the rules for MPs.
She then moved from that flat to her ministerial apartment in Admiralty House. In May, she bought the property in Hove.
Ms Rayner’s allies said she paid her council tax in full on both her Ashton-under-Lyne home and the Hove flat, including the new second home premium.
However, The Telegraph can disclose that the bill for Ms Rayner’s ministerial apartment in Admiralty House is covered by the Government [the taxpayer], rather than personally paid by her.
The Telegraph: continue reading
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