Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is under renewed pressure after it was revealed she has registered to vote in person at her recently purchased £800,000 second home in Hove.
Electoral records show that Ms Rayner already has postal votes registered at both her constituency address in Ashton-under-Lyne and in Westminster.
The additional in-person registration in Hove raises further doubts about her claim that Ashton-under-Lyne is her primary residence, a designation that saves her from paying the council tax bill on her grace-and-favour London apartment.
The revelations follow mounting questions about Ms Rayner’s complex property and tax arrangements. Last week it emerged she saved £40,000 in stamp duty on her Hove seafront flat by designating it as her main home, despite claiming her Ashton property as her primary residence for council tax purposes.
Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative Party chairman, said:
“Day by day, Angela Rayner’s web of apparent tax avoidance is unravelling, exposed by her convoluted and contradictory claims about where she lives. No reasonable person can think it acceptable for the minister in charge of electoral integrity to attempt to hold three votes in May’s elections, or for the Housing Secretary to weave her way around council-tax obligations and stamp duty while lecturing hard-working families about paying more tax on theirs.”
Neighbours in Ashton have claimed Ms Rayner is rarely seen at her constituency address, while she has previously spoken about her children spending more time with her in London. Conservatives are now pointing to her voting registrations as further evidence that she does not, in practice, live primarily in her northern constituency.
The Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministerial interests, Sir Laurie Magnus, could launch an investigation into the matter as soon as this week, threatening to overshadow Labour’s return to Parliament after the summer recess.
On Sunday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson defended her colleague, insisting Ms Rayner had followed all the rules and was entitled to “privacy” over her financial affairs. But pressure continues to mount after reports also suggested she had used the services of a firm specialising in “wealth protection” and that her partner has links to a company whose former client received Government funding.
Speculation is also growing that Ms Rayner may be preparing a political “chicken run” to the south coast. Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice claimed her purchase of the Hove flat was giving her an “option” to abandon her current seat, where polling suggests she risks losing to Reform.
While it is legal for an MP to be registered at more than one address, critics argue Ms Rayner’s case highlights serious questions about her integrity, given her role overseeing housing and electoral matters. Conservatives say her multiple registrations, in Ashton-under-Lyne, Westminster, and now Hove — expose a pattern of behaviour designed to minimise tax liabilities while keeping her options open politically.
As the controversy deepens, Ms Rayner is accused of putting her personal interests ahead of those she represents, with opponents warning that her credibility as Deputy Prime Minister is now in serious doubt.
