Rayner denies wrongdoing over council house sale amid police review
Angela Rayner has stated that she did not engage in any wrongdoing when she sold her council house, which is currently under police scrutiny following their decision to reevaluate it for investigation.
During an appearance on the BBC Radio 4 Today show, the second-in-command of the Labour Party said she was sure that she had followed all regulations and had not violated any laws.
The police in Greater Manchester are reconsidering their previous choice of not looking into accusations that Rayner might have violated election regulations. This decision was made after James Daly, a Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party, filed a grievance against how the police dealt with the matter.
The conservative party has put pressure on the police to look into a situation regarding Rayner. They claim that she may owe capital gains tax on the sale of her council house before she became a member of parliament. The allegations were reported in a book authored by the former Tory deputy chair, Lord Ashcroft. The book stated that Rayner did not sufficiently declare her primary residence.
Rayner expressed her certainty that she did not commit any mistake. According to her, she provided precise guidance based on the feedback she received. This statement was made during a Today interview.
Rayner mentioned that she was given advice on tax matters and followed the correct procedures. She expressed her willingness to share this advice with the police or HMRC but didn't want to disclose it to the public.
"She expressed that she feels there is no requirement for her to disclose all of her personal information. An example she provided was the release of her child's birth certificate to the general public, which she considers an invasion of her family's privacy."
I have communicated my position unequivocally – if HMRC requests the information, I will provide it without hesitation. Similarly, if the police require access to the information, I am willing to cooperate. However, I am not willing to divulge all of my personal details for the past decade and a half.
Rayner claimed that the allegations were driven by political motives. She stated that the police had carried out an investigation in response to demands from the Conservative vice-chair and had found no evidence of wrongdoing. Despite this, the Conservative Party has raised concerns about the police's actions and the matter is under review once again.
Rayner expressed her perspective that Boris Johnson's levelling up agenda had merit while he held the position of prime minister. On Thursday, both she and Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour party, pledged to reintroduce the initiative to address the issue of regional inequality.
Rayner and Starmer penned an op-ed for the Times prior to Labour's launch of the local elections campaign. They acknowledged that the Conservatives led by Johnson were grasping the concerns surrounding regional inequality, but censured Rishi Sunak for sabotaging the agenda.
In my opinion, the entire country agrees that certain tasks had to be accomplished,” stated Rayner during an interview on the Today program. “But, the issue was that the Conservative party chose not to complete those tasks. They drained the resources from those regions under the guise of budget cuts and then introduced a highly competitive bidding system where various councils spent exorbitant amounts of money in order to receive small amounts of funds back.”
Rayner reassured that she won't delay the execution of her proposed advancements in workers' rights despite Peter Mandelson's disapproval. Mandelson, a former business secretary and creator of the New Labour, has criticized the reforms.
The Labour party promised to prohibit zero-hours work agreements and enhance safeguards for employees. Recently, Mandelson authored an essay advising caution in implementing the adjustments put forth by labor organizations, hinting that it should not be rushed.
On Thursday, Rayner declared that she would not put the brakes on her efforts. She's been collaborating with various groups, including trade unions and businesses, from various industries.
It is recognized that currently, the lack of job security is not only affecting the lives of workers but is also creating a situation where employers are struggling to retain staff resulting in frequent staffing changes. This, in turn, affects the company's earnings. Therefore, there needs to be a readjustment in the way jobs are approached.
