Angela Rayner has said she did "absolutely nothing wrong" when she sold her council house, after Greater Manchester Police announced they were reviewing a decision not to investigate her. The deputy Labour leader told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she was confident she had not broken any rules.
The review follows a complaint by Conservative MP James Daly about the force’s handling of claims that Rayner may have breached electoral law. The allegations, made in a book by former Tory deputy chair Lord Ashcroft, suggested she was liable for capital gains tax on the sale and had failed to properly declare her main residence.
Rayner said she had received tax advice at the time confirming she followed the proper process. She said she was willing to provide that advice to the police or HMRC but would not make it public, citing the need to protect her family’s privacy. "I’ve been very clear, I will if HMRC want that information, I will comply," she said.
She argued the claims were politically motivated, noting that the police had already concluded there was no case to answer before the Conservatives complained about their actions. Rayner also defended the party’s levelling up agenda, saying Boris Johnson was "on to something" and accusing Rishi Sunak of abandoning the programme.
On workers’ rights, Rayner said she would not slow down plans to ban zero-hours contracts and strengthen protections despite criticism from Peter Mandelson. "I’m not going to slow it down," she said, adding that employers faced high turnover and that there needed to be a rebalancing.
