Last month, Angela Rayner was labelled a hypocrite after it came to light that she had profited from a scheme that she is now trying to reform. A new and unauthorised biography about the Labour Deputy Leader, written by Lord Ashcroft, stated that Rayner bought her council house through the right-to-buy policy - and made a tidy profit when she sold it later. This is a policy which Rayner has since said needs to be ‘reviewed’ due to people getting ‘loads, loads of discount’ on housing prices. When she bought her house through the scheme, it was at a 25% discount.
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Now, a neighbour has spoken out about where Rayner was really living when she sold her council house for a reported £48k profit. Here’s everything you need to know about the row, and how it is linked to the taxes she had to pay and her husband at the time.
Rayner’s neighbour called her a ‘liar’
The debate around this heated topic is ongoing, and one of the latest considerations focuses on where Rayner was living when she sold her council house. This is important because it would determine whether she should have paid capital gains tax on the sale, which took place in 2015. According to Gov.uk: ‘You may have to pay Capital Gains Tax if you make a profit (‘gain’) when you sell (or ‘dispose of’) property that’s not your home’.
There have been claims that the property was not Rayner's primary residence at the time. The Labour politician has been accused of lying about this, as reports say that she was actually living with her husband at the time, Mark Rayner, about a mile away from the house she sold. The couple married in 2010, and Mark’s house was situated on Lowndes Lane.
A neighbour who lives on the same street, Sylvia Hampson, has said that Rayner is a ‘f****** liar’ if she claims that she did not live with Mark during this time. The 83-year-old has lived there for 50 years, and said:
She definitely lived at that house. She can't say she didn't live there. I would swear on the Bible to that.
She was definitely living here full-time from about 2009 or 2010. I saw her all the time, coming and going and her mum would come and visit a lot.
Rayner’s response
In response to these claims, a spokesperson for the Labour politician said:
Gossip and hearsay does not change the fact that Angela Rayner maintained her own home while sharing childcare responsibilities with her husband at his property.
The statement went on to say that ‘Angela Rayner has set out her family's circumstances and has taken expert tax and legal advice which confirms that no capital gains tax was payable on the sale of her home’. Furthermore, a police investigation into Rayner’s case found 'no evidence regarding any offences'. Regardless, this whole drama has caused a lot of bad press for Rayner, who divorced from Mark Rayner, a union official, in 2020.
Since this news came out, James Daly, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, has made Greater Manchester Police aware of neighbours' reports about Rayner's living situation. A spokesperson for the force said: 'We have received a complaint regarding our decision not to investigate an allegation and are in the process of reassessing this decision'. Once their reassessment of the situation has been carried out, the 'complainant will be updated with the outcome'.
Read more:
⋙ Keir Starmer: The Labour leader's first official biography is out now
⋙ Sir Keir Starmer earns a six-figure salary: Here's how much the Labour leader gets paid
⋙ Rishi Sunak: The key people in the Prime Minister of the UK's life
Sources used:
Daily Mail: Angela Rayner WAS living a mile away from the council house she insists was her main residence for years, neighbours insist as Labour deputy leader's tax row grows
Express: Angela Rayner hits back after ex-neighbour brands her 'f****** liar' in council house row
The Standard: Police to reassess decision on probe into Angela Rayner election registration
