Angela Rayner has been accused of plotting a ‘chicken run’ to a safer seat on the south coast amid fears she could lose to Reform UK in the next election.
Recent polling suggests the Deputy Prime Minister’s seat of Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, which she has held since 2015, could fall to Nigel Farage‘s party.
To save her political career, there have been suggestions she may abandon the North for the much more secure seat of Hove, having recently added an £800,000 seaside apartment there to increase her burgeoning property empire.
The Housing Secretary’s new seaside pad is in addition to the £650,000 house she owns in her constituency and a three-bedroom grace-and-favour flat in Admiralty House, Whitehall.
It comes as the Mail revealed tonight how her property portfolio has been expanded with the help of a wealth protection firm, adding to the furore surrounding her housing affairs.
Richard Tice, Reform UK’s deputy leader, said the Housing Secretary was giving herself the ‘option’ to flee the North by putting down roots in the seaside spot of Hove.
The Conservatives have also suggested the Ashton MP may be making the transition to the south coast for the next election.
Angela Rayner has been accused of plotting a ‘chicken run’ to a safer seat on the south coast, abandoning her Ashton seat in the North
Ms Rayner recently added an £800,000 seaside apartment in Hove (above) to her burgeoning property empire
Richard Tice (pictured), Reform UK’s deputy leader, said the Housing Secretary was giving herself the ‘option’ to flee for the liberal seat of Hove and Portslade
Mr Tice told The Telegraph: ‘Angela Rayner is so terrified of losing her seat to Reform at the next election, she is buying herself an option to take on the Greens in Brighton.
‘The ultimate plant-based chicken run.’
The Mail has contacted the Deputy Prime Minister for comment.
Last night, the Mail revealed Ms Rayner split the ownership of her £650,000 constituency home with a trust administered by blue-chip law firm Shoosmiths.
The legal manoeuvre would be consistent with Ms Rayner placing some of the house’s equity in trust for her three children, one of whom has special needs – although the Deputy PM’s office repeatedly declined to answer The Mail on Sunday’s questions about its purpose.
The Tories have demanded to know whether the arrangement with the Shoosmiths Trust Corporation offered any inheritance tax advantages for Ms Rayner’s family – a political point heightened by the fact Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly considering raising inheritance tax in her autumn Budget as part of a wider range of ‘wealth taxes’.
The move appears to have been a bid to protect her new properties with the latest addition boasting sweeping views of the Hove seafront.
It also boasts a great location – in the heart of one of the safest Labour seats in the UK – currently held by Peter Kyle, the Science Secretary.
Ms Rayner purchased the three-bedroom Hove flat in May for use as a holiday home and has been spotted strolling around the area (pictured on the beach)
Ms Rayner’s new flat in Hove boasts a spacious fitted kitchen
The living room of elegant Victorian terrace offers sweeping views of the Hove seafront
It comes amid mounting pressure for Ms Rayner to face a sleaze probe into her controversial property dealings.
Ms Rayner purchased the three-bedroom Hove flat in May for use as a holiday home and has been spotted strolling around the area with her on-off partner, Sam Tarry.
When she entered the Government, Ms Rayner designated her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency home as her ‘primary residence’, and her pre-Admiralty home – a rented London flat – as her second home.
That allowed her to claim back the £1,621 council tax bill on the London flat from the taxpayer as one of the housing costs reimbursed by Commons authorities.
She has declined to say if she is still designating Ashton as her primary residence.
Ms Rayner’s large, airy flat is located on the second floor of an elegant Victorian terrace that leads down to the beach and is made up of two flats converted into one.
It has its own balcony and sash windows that look out onto the sea and a neatly maintained green.
One resident said: ‘Everybody knows Angela has moved into our block. I’ve seen her recently and she was sipping a coffee while leaving the building with her entourage.
‘She’s got the biggest and nicest flat in the block and appears to be using it as a holiday home for short breaks because she’s not there very often.
Ms Rayner bought her constituency home (pictured) in Ashton-under-Lyne in 2016 for £375,000, and previously stated it was her primary residence
Ms Rayner also has a three-bedroom grace-and-favour flat in Admiralty House (pictured) – which used to be home to Winston Churchill
‘It’s a fantastic flat that has great views of the sea.’
Another neighbour said: ‘She has her own security team but they don’t make a big fuss and you wouldn’t notice them.
‘She’s only at the flat on the odd weekend and most of the time doesn’t appear to stay for very long.’
Following the revelation, the Tories lodged a formal request on Friday for an investigation into whether the Deputy Prime Minister broke the ministerial code in her purchase of the £800,000 second home.
The move comes after an outcry over claims that Ms Rayner avoided £40,000 in stamp duty by telling the taxman that the luxury property in Hove was her main home while telling the Cabinet Office that her primary residence was her family home 260 miles away in Greater Manchester – all while living during the week in a lavish grace-and-favour apartment in central London, funded by the taxpayer.
Ms Rayner is thought to have paid around £30,000 in stamp duty on the Hove apartment.
But she would have had to pay £70,000 if the flat had been considered a second home because of a punitive tax regime designed to discourage holiday home purchases, which was extended by Rachel Reeves last year.
A spokesman for the Deputy Prime Minister previously said she had paid her taxes in full and done nothing wrong.
But even those in her party are unconvinced and Graham Stringer, the MP for Blackley and Middleton South, said the ‘optics’ of Ms Rayner’s actions did not ‘look good’, as the Government prepares for the autumn Budget.
Speaking to Times Radio, Mr Stringer said: ‘I’ve no idea if she’s broken any rules. I think it is always better for ministers to be transparent and to explain their financial dealings.’
He added it that it looked as if Ms Rayner was ‘manipulating the tax system’ for her benefit.
‘We all have a right to adjust our financial affairs in our own interest. But the optics of it, just before the Chancellor is going to do a Budget, doesn’t look good’, he added.
