Why police have reopened Angela Rayner electoral law probe

Angela Rayner has said she will step down from politics if she is found to have committed a crime as police re-examine claims she broke electoral law.

It comes after James Daly, the Conservative Party’s deputy chairman, suggested she may have given false information about her main place of residence.

Greater Manchester Police has said it is re-examining allegations that Labour’s deputy leader gave false information about her living situation.

Ms Rayner has accused the Tories of using the same political playbook they have done previously, reporting the Opposition to the police to distract from their own record.

In December 2021 , Boris Johnson referred to an event which both Ms Rayner and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had attended in Durham in April that year during Covid restrictions. Durham Constabulary investigated, what became known as Beergate, but cleared both of any wrongdoing.

What are the allegations against Ms Rayner?

The allegations relate to Ms Rayner’s living situation a decade ago and her former property on Vicarage Road, Stockport.

She is alleged to have given false information about whether this was her main place of residence thereby breaking electoral law.

Under electoral law, it is an offence to knowingly provide false information in a voter registration application form.

Ms Rayner has repeatedly said her house on Vicarage Road was her main address and not Lowndes Lane, the home owned by her then-husband Mark Rayner about a mile away.

However, Mr Daly has suggested she may have given false information about her main residence.

It follows previous Tory accusations over Ms Rayner’s living situation and whether she failed to pay capital gains tax on the 2015 sale of her former council house because of confusion over whether it was her principal residence.

The MP for Ashton-under-Lyne owned the property on Vicarage Road, Stockport between 2007 and 2015, during which time she was registered to vote there, while her then-partner Mark Rayner owned a property on nearby Lowndes Lane.

In the same year as her wedding, Ms Rayner is said to have re-registered the births of her two youngest children, giving her address as where her husband resided.

Ms Rayner has insisted that Vicarage Road was her “principal property” despite her husband living elsewhere at the time.

He was listed at another address in Lowndes Lane, about a mile away, which had also been bought under the right-to-buy scheme.

She has rejected suggestions in a book by former Tory deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft she failed to properly declare her main home.

The unauthorised biography alleges she bought the property with a 25 per cent discount in 2007 under the right-to-buy scheme introduced by former Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

The former carer is then said to have made a £48,500 profit when she sold the house eight years later.

Government guidance says a tenant can apply to buy their council home through the right-to-buy scheme if it is their “only or main home”.

Ms Rayner has denied any wrongdoing. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme last month, she said: “I am confident that I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. I’ve been very clear on my advice that I have received.”

Angela Rayner faces fresh scrutiny over her living situation a decade ago. (Photo: Danny Lawson/PA)

Why are police re-examining the allegations?

Greater Manchester Police had initially said Ms Rayner would not face an investigation following a “investigative review” as there “wasn’t a case to answer”.

However, after correspondence from deputy Tory party chairman James Daly, the force said it had to “review the circumstances” and launched a fresh probe.

Mr Daly, who is MP for Bury North, is understood to have informed officers of neighbours’ statements allegedly contradicting Ms Rayner’s about whether her property on Vicarage Road, Stockport, was her main home and not her husband’s separate address.

He is reported to have complained that officers did not appear to have looked at the electoral roll or spoken to neighbours.

A police spokesperson said: “We’re investigating whether any offences have been committed.

“This follows a reassessment of the information provided to us by Mr Daly.”

What has Angela Rayner said?

In a statement issued on Friday night, Ms Rayner said: “I’ve repeatedly said I would welcome the chance to sit down with the appropriate authorities, including the police and HMRC, to set out the facts and draw a line under this matter.

“I am completely confident I’ve followed the rules at all times.

“I have always said that integrity and accountability are important in politics.

“That’s why it’s important that this is urgently looked at, independently and without political interference. “

She said she made “no apologies for having held Conservative ministers to account in the past” and that the “public would rightly expect me to do so as a Deputy Leader of the Opposition”.

She added: “We have seen the Tory Party use this playbook before – reporting political opponents to the police during election campaigns to distract from their record.

“I will say as I did before – if I committed a criminal offence, I would of course do the right thing and step down.

“The British public deserves politicians who know the rules apply to them.

“The questions raised relate to a time before I was an MP and I have set out my family’s circumstances and taken expert tax and legal advice.

“I look forward to setting out the facts with the relevant authorities at the earliest opportunity.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said he has “full confidence” hat Ms Rayner has not broken the rules. (Photo: Jordan Pettitt/PA)

What has Labour said?

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the police investigation into Ms Rayner’s council house sale and said he had “full confidence” she had not broken the rules.

He previously accused the Conservatives of “chasing a smear” in raising questions about the deputy leader and said people were more interested in “problems caused by this Government”.

The Labour Party has said it remains confident Ms Rayner has complied with the rules and said she “welcomes the chance to set out the facts with the police”.

Some senior Labour figures have also defended Ms Rayner.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was confident she would be “vindicated” while shadow energy secretary Ed Miliband described her as an inspiration and “exactly the kind of person we need in politics”.

But the Tory Defence Secretary Grant Shapps accused her of “double standards” and insisted it was “not acceptable to ignore it”.

He said: “I think the double standards have been extraordinary, Angela Rayner herself has spent her political career calling people out for exactly the thing she seems to be doing now.

“It’s not acceptable to ignore it and it’s not acceptable for Keir Starmer to say he won’t even read reports into it.”