Conservatives accuse Angela Rayner of dodging council tax on Westminster flat

Angela Rayner has come under fire for avoiding the council tax surcharge on her Westminster flat while serving as Housing Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister.

The Telegraph reports Westminster Council introduced a 100% surcharge on second homes from April 1, which would have doubled the £2,034 bill on her Whitehall residence.

However, the council only learned that Rayner’s flat in Admiralty House, a Grade I-listed building, was a second home in early May, more than a month after the premium took effect.

A retrospective one-off payment was eventually made in late July, but only after Conservative MPs continued to press the issue.

Ms Rayner had a personal responsibility to ensure the council tax was paid under the ministerial code

The news comes after Ms Rayner resigned from the government after she admitted to failing to pay enough stamp duty on her flat in Hove and the ethics watchdog found she broke the ministerial code.

The government is responsible for paying council tax on grace and favour properties, which are ministers’ second homes.

However, the Conservatives argue in a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and ethics advisor Sir Laurie Magnus that Ms Rayner had a personal responsibility to ensure the council tax was paid under the ministerial code.

According to the Telegraph, the code states: “Where a minister is allocated an official residence, they must ensure that all personal tax liabilities, including any council tax, are properly discharged and that they personally pay such liabilities.”

Labour are hitting families with higher council tax bills

Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative Party chairman, said: “This new evidence confirms what we have long suspected: Angela Rayner failed to pay the council tax she was liable for, broke the ministerial code and led to ministers misleading Parliament in the process.

“Having already failed to pay £40,000 in stamp duty and now failed to properly discharge her council tax bill, there can never be a route back into government for Angela Rayner. She must also pay back her £17,000 golden goodbye she received after resigning.

“All this at a time when Labour are hitting families with higher council tax bills. It is simply indefensible that one of their most senior figures avoided paying her own.”

A source close to Ms Rayner told The Telegraph: “The government is responsible for liaising with Westminster city council and administering council tax on Admiralty House, not Angela, and there is no suggestion she did anything other than properly discharge her own responsibilities as and when required.”