Recent news revealed that the deputy leader of the Labour Party, Angela Rayner, won’t face further police action centring on ex-Tory accusations about her previous living conditions and tax settlements. According to Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, this allows Rayner, potential future deputy prime minister of Britain if Labour achieves victory in the election, to fully focus on her campaign ahead of the July 4th ballot.
In response, Rayner aimed her criticism at the Conservatives for initiating police involvement based on her alleged misconduct in tax dealings and her residence declaration in formal papers. “This is a familiar tactic from the Conservative Party: getting the police involved with political rivals during campaigning periods to divert attention from their terrible track record,” claimed Rayner. She added, “After 14 ineffective years, the public is tired of their cynical strategies.”
Emphasising that tax officials still had control over the matter, the Conservatives demanded Labour to publish tax guidance that Rayner consistently stated as evidential of her innocence. The issue had been a dark cloud over Rayner for several months with constant exhortations from Tories for her to step down for the duration of the police investigation.
The dispute originated from Rayner’s house sale in 2015 situated in Stockport, near Manchester, triggering suspicions about tax evasion. Rayner always maintained that it was her primary dwelling, therefore making her exempt from capital gains tax, despite her regular visits to a different house a mile away where her former partner resided. Added to this, Tories queried the accuracy of her electoral roll entries and her council tax payments. Initially, Greater Manchester Police chose not to intervene but were later compelled to pursue an investigation as the matter escalated.
Whether or not laws were broken carried significant political weight as Rayner had committed to stepping down if found guilty, an act which could potentially derail her political journey. However, the police, as of Tuesday, decided not to progress with further action. Similarly, Stockport Council, holding authority over council tax, decided against further intervention.
The UK’s tax regulators typically don’t openly discuss individual cases, but a source from the Labour Party conveyed to the BBC that after thorough scrutiny into the tax issue, it was found that Ms Rayner wasn’t at fault. “I was confident that Angela wasn’t implicated in any wrongdoing,” Mr Starmer informed UK television networks. “Given her recent exoneration by the police, Angela will now be actively participating in our campaign efforts.”
Earlier this Tuesday, there were heated debates between the Tories and Labour regarding pensions and the nation’s economic state. Labour pledged to halt increases in income tax while the Tories guaranteed higher tax exemptions for retirees. The focus of the ongoing election campaign is predicted to shift towards the healthcare sector by Wednesday.