The sleaze crisis engulfing Angela Rayner is being fuelled by a Labour ‘civil war’ over who should succeed Keir Starmer, the Tories claimed yesterday.
Shadow Cabinet minister Alex Burghart said senior Labour figures were more interested in jockeying for position to take over from the Prime Minister than in dealing with the problems facing the country.
Mr Burghart said it was ‘very likely’ that damaging information about Ms Rayner’s personal life and tax affairs is being leaked by Labour rivals who believe Sir Keir will be forced out over his dire poll ratings.
‘This is the sort of infighting we are going to see a lot more of in public as Labour politicians fear the collapse of Keir Starmer’s regime and start briefing against each other,’ he told the Daily Mail.
‘The Prime Minister’s popularity is at rock bottom and it is no surprise that the vultures are circling.
‘Now they are starting to fight each other and while they are doing that they are not focused on the needs of the public, such as the crisis in the Channel or the problems in the economy. Their only concern is their own advancement.’
The Conservatives have lodged a formal demand for an investigation into whether the Deputy Prime Minister broke the ministerial code during the purchase of an £800,000 second home.
The move follows an outcry over claims that Ms Rayner avoided £40,000 in stamp duty by telling the taxman that the luxury property in Hove is her main home, while telling the Cabinet Office that her primary residence is her former family home 260 miles away in Greater Manchester.
When parliament is sitting she is thought to live mainly in a third property – a lavish grace-and-favour apartment in central London, funded by the taxpayer.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson yesterday insisted Ms Rayner had done nothing wrong. But as the drip-drip of allegations continued:
- It emerged that Ms Rayner’s boyfriend, former Labour MP Sam Tarry, has worked for a lobbying firm whose clients have received a £280,000 government grant;
- The Mail on Sunday revealed that Ms Rayner employed a firm specialising in ‘wealth protection’ to help dispose of her share in her former family home in Greater Manchester;
- Speculation mounted that Ms Rayner’s move to Hove could be part of a ‘chicken run’ strategy to find a safe seat on the south coast and avoid being ejected from parliament by Reform;
- Labour MPs urged the Deputy PM to make a public statement setting out where she lives and how much stamp duty she paid in her recent property dealings.
Mr Burghart told Times Radio that the personal nature of the information leaked against Ms Rayner meant it was ‘very likely that this sort of information was briefed by Angela Rayner’s opponents in the Labour Party’, adding: ‘We know some people see her as the next prime minister if Keir Starmer was to fall.’
He noted that Ms Rayner’s department is considering a change in the law to prevent elected mayors from standing as MPs – a move that would block potential rivals such as Andy Burnham and Sir Sadiq Khan from standing for the leadership.
Labour MPs are dismayed by the lack of initiatives emerging from Downing Street during parliament’s summer recess – a vacuum which has allowed Reform leader Nigel Farage to dominate the national conversation.
Two opinion polls in the past week have put Labour support on a record low of 20 per cent.
Sir Keir moved last week to remove a third senior aide, with MPs speculating the PM’s Svengali-like chief of staff Morgan McSweeney is losing his grip.
Allies of Ms Rayner insist she is the victim of a smear campaign.
Ms Phillipson said Ms Rayner had followed the rules. ‘Angela Rayner is an adult, if she wants to buy a flat she can buy a flat.’
Ms Rayner faced damaging new leaks yesterday.
The Sun revealed that Mr Tarry has worked for the lobbying group Henham Strategy, which has several clients with interests that fall within the Deputy Prime Minister’s brief.
There is no suggestion Mr Tarry has acted improperly, but Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake said Ms Rayner should ‘come clean’ about whether she has recused herself from any decisions relating to his commercial interests.
The Cabinet Office said she had followed the standard process for managing her interests.
