Burnham says he’s ‘not making excuses’ for Angela Rayner as stamp duty row deepens
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has stated he will not make excuses for Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner amid a deepening controversy over unpaid stamp duty on her second home in Hove. Rayner admitted to underpaying stamp duty by £40,000 by classifying the Sussex apartment as her only property, despite still using her family home in Ashton-under-Lyne. She has referred herself to the government’s ethics adviser and HMRC. While Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform’s Nigel Farage have called for her resignation, Burnham and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey urge waiting for the investigation's outcome. Burnham defended Rayner’s need for a property far from her constituency due to her high office duties and dismissed speculation about his own political ambitions.
Andy Burnham defended his “friend” Angela Rayner on Thursday but refused to excuse her failure to pay the correct stamp duty on a second home, insisting the government’s ethics adviser must be allowed to complete an investigation before any judgment is made.
The Greater Manchester mayor told BBC Radio Manchester that “a mistake has been made” after reports revealed the deputy Prime Minister saved an estimated £40,000 in tax by removing her name from the deeds of her family home in Ashton-under-Lyne while purchasing a flat in Hove, Sussex. Rayner, who represents the neighbouring constituency, referred herself to both the ethics adviser and HM Revenue and Customs on Wednesday.
“It’s clear it’s a complicated situation,” Burnham said. “Angela’s life is complicated, she has a trust fund in relation to her son and that clearly makes things complicated when it comes to property. I am not making excuses. I do not think Angela would want me to do that. What I am saying is let the ethics adviser take a proper look at it and come back with an independent judgement.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform’s Nigel Farage have demanded Rayner’s resignation, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who also has a disabled child, said he understood her actions given similar concerns about his son’s future care. Burnham echoed calls to await the official findings before deciding Rayner’s political fate.
The mayor dismissed suggestions the controversy might clear his own path to Labour leadership, stating: “I do not go round plotting my return to Westminster. For the eight years I have been here I have been dedicated to the job and actually I feel the worst of Westminster is when everyone reads into this means that for this person.”
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