Angela Rayner police probe dropped after council home row
Greater Manchester Police have dropped a probe into Angela Rayner over allegations she broke electoral law.
The force said no further action will be taken against Labour’s Deputy leader, who had vowed to resign if found to have committed a criminal offence.
Ms Rayner came out fighting last month after Tory Deputy chairman James Daly lobbied police to investigate a row involving the sale of a council house she lived in a decade ago.
But in a statement today, a spokesman for Greater Manchester Police 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.“
They added: “The investigation originated from complaints made by Mr James Daly MP directly to GMP. Subsequent further contact with GMP by members of the public, and claims made by individuals featured in media reporting, indicated a strong public interest in the need for allegations to be investigated.
“Matters involving council tax and personal tax do not fall into the jurisdiction of policing.
“GMP has liaised with Stockport Council and information about our investigation has been shared with them. Details of our investigation have also been shared with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).”
Labour peer George Foulkes responded after the police statement: “The Tories who complained should be charged with wasting police time!”
Questions over the Labour Deputy leader’s living arrangements first emerged in an unauthorised biography by the billionaire former Tory peer, Lord Ashcroft. Ms Rayner was accused of falsely claiming that she was living at an ex-council house she owned in Vicarage Road in Stockport, Greater Manchester, when she was living at her then husband Mark Rayner’s house a mile down the road.
Critics said she may have broken electoral law as she should not have been registered on the electoral roll if she did not live there. But Ms Rayner had insisted that Vicarage Road was her “principal property” despite her husband living elsewhere at the time.
She also faced questions about whether she should have paid capital gains tax when her home was sold and if she paid the correct amount of council tax. It is understood Ms Rayner had requested HMRC look into the matter and they confirmed to her that there was no capital gains tax liability.
Senior Labour figures including leader Keir Starmer had stood by Ms Rayner throughout the investigation. During a fiery exchange in the Commons last month, the Labour leader accused “billionaire” Rishi Sunak of “smearing a working-class woman” over the row.
Responding to the police statement today, a Labour spokeswoman 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.”
