Bridget Phillipson has defended her cabinet colleague Angela Rayner over accusations the deputy prime minister avoided tax when buying a seaside property in East Sussex.
The education secretary said Rayner had the right to buy the £800,000 flat in Hove “so long as she followed all the rules”, after reports Rayner had avoided £40,000 in stamp duty by listing it as the only property she owns.
Conservatives have accused Rayner, who is also the housing secretary, of hypocrisy given she has also listed her Greater Manchester home as her primary residence, in a move that allowed her to avoid £2,000 in council tax on her government-owned flat in central London.
Phillipson told Times Radio on Sunday: “Angela Rayner has been clear that she followed all the rules and requirements of her, that she has followed the rules completely.
“That is her position, that she has done everything that has been asked of her.”
Asked whether it was hypocritical for Rayner to buy the flat in Hove, Phillipson replied: “If an individual wants to buy a property, whether that individual is Angela Rayner or anybody else, they are entirely within their rights to spend their money as they choose … Angela Rayner, as an adult with a salary, is able to make choices about how she spends her own money.”
She added: “So long as she’s followed all of the rules and requirements as a part of that, then I don’t think there’s anything more.”
Rayner has been under pressure since it emerged she had bought the flat weeks after removing her name from the deed of her constituency home in Ashton-under-Lyne.
Because she was not listed as one of the owners of the Greater Manchester home, she avoided having to pay a higher rate of stamp duty, which is applicable to purchases of second homes.
She is reported to have sold her stake in the Ashton house to pay for the flat in Hove.
The deputy prime minister is reported to have separately listed the constituency home as her primary residence, meaning she did not have to pay council tax on her grace-and-favour apartment in Admiralty House on Whitehall, London.
The Mail on Sunday reported over the weekend that Rayner had in 2023 split the ownership of the Ashton house with a trust administered by the law firm Shoosmiths.
Rayner’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
The row has been given extra prominence in the run-up to the budget, amid reports that Labour is planning to increase property taxes as a way of avoiding a multibillion-pound shortfall in public spending.
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is said to be considering a range of options including an annual property tax to replace stamp duty entirely.
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, will seek to highlight those reports on Monday during a visit to meet homeowners in Reigate in Surrey alongside the shadow housing secretary, James Cleverly.
Badenoch said on Sunday: “Labour look set to wage a new war on family homes with more taxes like those that Labour ministers seemingly want to avoid paying themselves.”
