Rayner says she has been cleared by HMRC in fresh Labour leader twist
Angela Rayner has said she was cleared by HMRC of deliberate wrongdoing or carelessness over her tax affairs, which is set to shake up a divided Labour Party just as Sir Keir Starmer‘s leadership seemed poised to fall apart.
Rayner said that she settled a case of unpaid stamp duty and added that she had been “exonerated” in a statement.
Her tax affairs were seen as the main barrier to her return to government, with previous revelations in newspapers leading to her resignation.
She did not rule out directly challenging Starmer for the leadership when asked about the matter in interviews with ITV News and The Guardian.
“I’ve made it clear that I wasn’t going to trigger the prime minister – and that I want to see change,” she said.
She also said: “Whatever role I can play, I will keep pushing and pushing hard because I want the people out there at the moment who are really struggling … to know that I’m putting all my energy into fighting for them.”
The former deputy prime minister, who has called for the government to take a more leftist and radical approach on policymaking, is feared by some bond traders as City analysts have warned that a Rayner government could lead to a sharp rise in borrowing.
Rayner said she was ‘bruised’
Rayner said she had been “bruised” by the tax affair given it concerned family living matters and said the investigation had “clipped my wings”.
She also said that it was an “ambiguous” issue and that she did get advice for the “very complex area of tax”.
“Politicians should be held up to high standards and that’s why, when there was a question mark, I resigned from government. I think that was the right thing to do,” she told The Guardian.
But Thursday’s events is likely to lead to heavy speculation over her possible return to the top of government.
Starmer has to ‘reflect’
Starmer has previously said that he wished to bring Rayner back to the Cabinet once the tax issue had ended.
As around 100 Labour MPs have called on the Prime Minister to resign, Rayner is likely to face calls to challenge Starmer. Health secretary Wes Streeting is reportedly looking to find 81 backbenchers to back him as Labour Party rules demand.
Rayner, who is popular among party members, said she wanted to “see actions, not just words” but responded on whether Starmer would have to step aside with “Keir will have to reflect on that”.
“I’ve said to Keir this is a really significant moment for our party and the country.
“The pace of change hasn’t been enough for voters to see, and also mistakes have really blown us off course and made voters doubt us.”
She also called on Labour representatives to put egos aside.
“I don’t think it’s a case of each person for themselves, but I do think it’s a case of people seeing how they can pull the party together and have the vision to take us forward. You have to play your role as part of a team,” she said.