Rayner Has Resigned

[usernamealreadytaken]

AIBU to say it isn't unexpected, or a surprise?

basically...she is not very clever. a not very clever person shouldn't really be deputy prime minister. i'm not taking a dig at her background/class/lack of academic qualifications...she's just not bright., and doesn't have the charisma to make up for that.

Are you kidding? Didn't Boris have to resign over a slice of cake whilst Kier was going far worse. Disgusting hypocrites.

Hi Angie's, PR 👋

It’s not hard to get the specialist advice as advised

Also not hard to avoid lying re having got that advice.

The UK does not work on "morals".
The thing with morals, they are subjective.

Principles and legality are far better social parameters.

Don't think it was cake what done it.

Boris did not resign over "a slice of cake".

TOTAL hypocrite course she had to GO!!! pushed b4 getting sacked no doubt worked out a NICE payoff !!!!! she knew when interviewed limited time WAFFLED on FINAL straw when her so called EXPERT denied any advice given GUD ridderance hope this starts a chain reaction and MORE bugger off 😀

I bet that if she was told that she owes the higher rate of SDLT but with a caveat that this was not expert tax advice and she should obtain specific tax advice, she ruddy well would have obtained the expert tax advice 😂

@Goldplatedhinges That’s a really good question! Our mistake was completely honest and we were let down about our tax advisor who didn’t advise us about the timing. If HMRC had waived the fine and if the system was designed to be more flexible then would I be more forgiving of Rayner… Possibly, if it was clear that her mistake was also completely honest. But I still struggle with this because as someone as important as she is, she should have had this triple checked by the very top advisors. And the fact that Angela has hounded other politicians about their tax affairs makes it really difficult to be forgiving

That you think only Rayner's PR would give an accurate account of the report speaks volumes about you.

How is she a good person when she has committed tax fraud? If ANYONE else had done this, especially the tories, or even the general public, there would be a prosecution.

Well she definitely has 'charisma' let's face it, that is why Reform and Farage went after her, she was seen as a threat to his support.

Oh, cool!

Do as I say not as I do.

Complete and utter hypocrisy from Ange!

Funny the "mistake" saved her 40k?

Ins't it just?? Animal Farm indeed.
Glad she' gone.

I personally could never vote for Labour as I disagreed with too many of their policies. However, the thought of a Reform government or Farage as pm, is rather terrifying.

Yes. Tax is law and law is constantly changing in response to changes in e.g. society, technology, and more importantly it changes in response to precedent set by cases brought which don't fit neatly into the current legislation, or where it is found that the current legislation is weak.

In most people's cases, tax affairs are straightforward and you could say they are black and white. But the idea that tax is a black and white thing is laughable. I once spent the best part of six months arguing the definition of a particular term with HMRC as it pertained to a particular clients case. They conceded in the end.

Lying, hypocritical grifter, keen to get on and stay on the gravy train, while expecting the rest of us to do what she said, not what she did! Couldn’t stand her.

On a more positive note, I hope Wes Streeting becomes deputy PM. I really rate him (and I’m not even a labour voter).

Ok - if we take party politics out of this entirely and form a balanced opinion.

An MP who has previously been “harassed by the right wing press” about potential wrong doing over her housing situation in the last year, is told not once but by two different professionals to seek specialist tax advice because her situation is complex but chooses not to.

Why? What possible reasons / mitigation / rationale would there be for that?

"We want our government and MPs to have integrity".

Angela Rayner resigns over something that seems close to an honest mistake.

"It's a disaster for Labour. I will never vote for a party whose senior figures do the right thing".

Even without tax advice, most of us know that you pay a higher rate of stamp duty on a second home and, logically, it was a second (or third) home and NOT her main residence.

In most people's cases, tax affairs are straightforward and you could say they are black and white.

Most people don't have access to the resources Rayner does.