Police drop investigation into Angela Rayner over council house row
Police have dropped an investigation into Angela Rayner over allegations about her former council house living arrangements.
Following months of investigations, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said on Tuesday that Labour’s deputy leader will face no further action over claims she broke electoral law in relation to her living situation a decade ago.
Welcoming the conclusion of the police investigation, Ms Rayner accused the Tories of using “desperate tactics” ahead of the upcoming July general election.
It was following a complaint from Conservative deputy chairman James Daly that Ms Rayner went on to face scrutiny over the 2015 sale of her council house in Stockport and over whether she had provided false information about her address during the 2010s.
She faced claims about whether she breached electoral law, failed to pay capital gains tax, and falsely received a single-occupancy council tax discount.
Stockport Council also said on Tuesday that it had concluded no further action will be taken against Ms Rayner.
HM Revenue and Customs would not comment on an individual’s tax affairs, but it is understood they had already looked into the matter at Ms Rayner’s request and concluded there was no capital gains tax liability.
A spokesperson for GMP said: “Following allegations about Angela Rayner MP, Greater Manchester Police has completed a thorough, carefully considered and proportionate investigation. We have concluded that no further police action will be taken.”
Ms Rayner had promised to resign if she was found to have committed a crime, but on Tuesday the Labour Party said the police announcement “draws a line under the matter”.
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting previously hit out at the treatment of Ms Rayner. Speaking exclusively to The Independent this month, he said that the whole saga made his “blood boil” and accused his colleague’s critics of attacking her because “she is a working-class success story”.
Questions about Ms Rayner’s living arrangements surfaced following the publication of an unauthorised biography by former Tory deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft.
In the book, the peer wrote that the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne bought her former council house in Vicarage Road, Stockport in 2007 under the right-to-buy scheme. Her then-husband was listed at another address about a mile away, which was also bought under the scheme.
In the same year as her wedding, Ms Rayner was reported to have re-registered the births of her two youngest children, giving her address as the house in which her husband resided. Ms Rayner has insisted that Vicarage Road was her “principal property” despite her husband living elsewhere at the time.
She has faced questions about whether she should have paid capital gains tax when her home was sold and whether she paid the correct amount of council tax, while Mr Daly had alleged she may have made a false declaration about where she was living on the electoral register.
Ms Rayner repeatedly stated she was confident she had done nothing wrong, but she promised to resign if she was found to have committed a crime – in an echo of the alleged ‘Beergate’ scandal pursued by Labour’s political opponents in 2021.
At the time, leader Sir Keir Starmer put his political career on the line when he vowed to resign if he was issued with a fixed penalty notice for breaching Covid rules when he had a beer and curry at what Labour said was a work meeting. Ms Rayner, who was also at the event that April, followed suit but the pair were cleared by Durham Police that July.
Following the police announcement on Tuesday, Ms Rayner said: ““I welcome the conclusion of the police investigation and confirmation that no further action will be taken.
“We have seen the Conservative Party use this playbook before – reporting political opponents to the police during election campaigns to distract from their dire record.
“The public have had enough of these desperate tactics from a Tory government with nothing else to say after 14 years of failure.
“I am grateful to all those who have stood by and supported me and my family. My focus now is squarely on securing the change Britain needs, with the election of a Labour government.”
Sir Keir Starmer said he was pleased his deputy “has been vindicated”.
The Labour leader told reporters during a campaign visit to Stevenage: “I never doubted that Angela hadn’t done anything wrong and now she’s been cleared by the police.
“And that means that Angela can be campaigning with us. This is an important moment for the country. This is an election that is all about change, turning our back on 14 years of chaos and division, turning the page and rebuilding our country with Labour.
“So I’m really pleased that Angela has been vindicated. I always had confidence in her.”
A Labour Party spokesman said: “The police have now completed their investigation into claims made by the Conservative Party deputy chairman and have concluded that no further action will be taken. Angela cooperated fully with the police investigation throughout.
“Angela has always been clear that she was not liable for capital gains tax on the sale of the home she owned before she was an MP, that she was properly registered to vote, and paid the appropriate council tax. She took expert tax and legal advice which confirms this.
“This draws a line under the matter.”
Greater Manchester Police initially said it would not be looking into the allegations but, following the complaint from Mr Daly, the force launched an investigation.
The police said matters involving tax did not fall within their jurisdiction but they had shared information with Stockport Council and HMRC.
A spokesperson for Stockport Council said on Tuesday: “Stockport Council has reviewed and responded to all correspondence relating to this matter, including information received from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) who have concluded that no further police action will be taken. We have also concluded that no further action will be taken on behalf of the council.”
