Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has purchased a third home on the south coast for over £700,000, prompting accusations of hypocrisy after she oversaw changes allowing councils to double council tax on second homes. The property, understood to be in Hove, adds to her constituency home in Ashton-under-Lyne and a grace-and-favour ministerial apartment in Admiralty House, Westminster.
The Tories have demanded Rayner clarify her council tax arrangements. Shadow housing secretary Sir 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.'
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice called Rayner the 'Everest of hypocrisy', while senior Tory Dame Priti Patel 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.'
Allies of Rayner defended the purchase, with a source saying: 'Angela’s work means that she’s often had to be in and around London for over a decade now but had always rented a flat for that purpose.' A Labour spokesman added: 'We are not in the business of restricting people's ability to own property, but we're clear that rights come with responsibilities.'
The controversy comes amid speculation that the next budget could see Labour overhaul property taxes, including ending the capital gains tax exemption for primary residences above a certain threshold.
