Labour latest: Rayner pays £40,000 stamp duty to start challenge

Angela Rayner has said in interviews with the Guardian and ITV that she has been cleared of any tax misconduct by HMRC, paving the way for a potential leadership bid if Sir Keir Starmer were to resign. Watch her interview here:

Labour’s leadership anarchy took a dramatic twist today as Angela Rayner declared she had been cleared by the taxman – and suggested Keir Starmer could consider quitting.

The former deputy PM effectively threw her hat into the ring by announcing that she has paid £40,000 to settle her wrangling with HMRC over unpaid stamp duty.

Crucially, she insisted that she had not been made to pay any penalty for deliberately or ‘carelessly’ dodging tax. Read the Daily Mail’s full story here:

The FTSE 100 opened 20 points higher this morning, before trading flat within minutes at 10,326.

Bond markets are relatively calm with the 10-year gilt yield slipping 3 basis points, while 30-years are trading down 2 basis points at 5.72 per cent.

Stay in touch with all the latest updates on the economic situation this morning with This Is Money’s ‘Markets Live’:

Rachel Reeves warned Labour MPs that a leadership chaos will crush the economy today.

The Chancellor delivered the stark message as she insisted UK plc has been resilient in the face of the Middle East crisis.

Official figures this morning showed GDP growing by 0.3 per cent in March – the first full month since Donald Trump launch strikes on Iran. That was better than most analysts expected, although slower than February.

Read the Daily Mail’s full story here:

When asked about Angela Rayner’s case, HMRC said: ‘We cannot comment on individuals due to taxpayer confidentiality law.’

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Labour MPs had an ‘important decision to make’ as she spoke to reporters in Downing Street.

Asked if she was worried about the impact of a potential leadership race on the economic policies she has been working on these past few years, she said: ‘Labour MPs have got an important decision to make today, but the numbers show that the economy is growing and that when we entered this conflict, our economy was growing strongly because of the decisions that I have made as chancellor, we shouldn’t put that at risk.’

Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray said Sir Keir Starmer could win a future Labour leadership contest.

Asked whether he believed the Prime Minister would survive and fight a leadership election, he told Times Radio: ‘Yes.’

Asked whether Sir Keir would stand in any contest, Mr Murray said: ‘He’s said that, he said that on Monday in response to a question after his speech on Monday that he would if there were one.

‘But I repeat my earlier point, I think having a leadership election would be the wrong choice for us to take.’

Angela Rayner said she was ‘relieved’ she could ‘get on with my job’ after HMRC cleared her of deliberate wrongdoing in an investigation over her tax affairs.

In a statement, the former deputy leader said: ‘I welcome HMRC’s conclusion, which has cleared me of any wrongdoing.

‘I have been exonerated by HMRC of the accusation that I deliberately sought to avoid tax.

‘When purchasing a home of my own with a mortgage, I did not own any other property and had no personal financial interest in the court-instructed trust set up to manage my son’s financial award. I was advised by experts that I should pay stamp duty at the standard rate.

‘I set out to pay the correct amount of tax. I took reasonable care and acted in good faith, based on the expert advice I received, and HMRC has accepted this.

‘I have always sought to act with integrity, and I believe politicians should be held to high standards – that is why I resigned from Government and co-operated fully with HMRC.

‘I wanted to ensure that I paid every penny that I owed, and have done so. I am relieved that my family can now move on – and that I can get on with my job.’

Wes Streeting looks set to plunge Labour into civil war today by quitting the Cabinet to mount a leadership challenge against Keir Starmer

The Health Secretary is ready to fire the starting gun this morning following yesterday’s face-to-face showdown with the beleaguered Prime Minister which lasted just 16 minutes.

His plans triggered panic in Downing Street and fury on the Labour Left, where MPs are even considering Ed Miliband as they scramble to unite behind a candidate of their own.

Sir Keir was reduced to pleading with his MPs to step back from the brink of a leadership contest, which he warned would cause ‘chaos’ and ‘paralyse’ the Government for months.

During a series of private meetings in the Commons, he told them: ‘We can’t let a leadership contest plunge us into chaos and a challenge would 100 per cent do that.’

Angela Rayner today revealed she has handed £40,000 to HMRC for underpaying stamp duty – but insisted she has not been ‘tax dodging’ – paving the way for a potential Labour leadership bid.

With her party plunged into civil war, Ms Rayner has also insisted that she will not run with her friend Andy Burnham, declaring: ‘I am not doing deals’.

She was forced to resign as Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary last September after a sleaze watchdog found she broke the Ministerial Code when she underpaid about £40,000 of stamp duty on an £800,000 seaside apartment in Hove, East Sussex.

In an interview with ITV the former deputy Labour leader said ‘people felt that I was tax dodging’ but ‘HMRC have concluded that there wasn’t any wrongdoing on my behalf’.

It comes as Health Secretary Wes Streeting prepares to resign from Government and launch his own bid for leadership today with Ed Miliband also rumoured to be a potential candidate.

Angela Rayner paved the way for a potential Labour leadership challenge on Thursday morning as Wes Streeting looks set to resign and Keir Starmer clings on to power.

Stick with us today for the latest on the Labour leadership battle.