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Phillipson says Rayner 'is clear she followed tax rules' on flat
The Guardian
|September 01, 2025
Bridget Phillipson has defended her cabinet colleague Angela Rayner over accusations the deputy prime minister avoided tax when buying a seaside property in East Sussex.
The education secretary said Rayner had the right to buy the £800,000 flat in Hove "so long as she followed all the rules", after reports Rayner had avoided £40,000 in stamp duty by listing it as the only property she owns.
Conservatives have accused Rayner, who is also the housing secretary, of hypocrisy given she has also listed her Greater Manchester home as her primary residence, in a move that allowed her to avoid £2,000 in council tax on her government-owned flat in central London.
Phillipson told Times Radio yesterday: "Angela Rayner has been clear that she followed all the rules and requirements of her, that she has followed the rules completely. That is her position, that she has done everything that has been asked of her."
This story is from the September 01, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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