Angela Rayner stood down from the Government on 5 September following a report published by the Prime Minister’s ethics advisor saying she had broken the ministerial code.
Rayner resigned from her government positions as Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, prompting a reshuffle at the top of government.
Ian Murray, MP for Edinburgh South, was removed as Secretary of State for Scotland and replaced by MP for East Lothian Douglas Alexander.
Murray has been the MP for Edinburgh South since 2010, and after the 2015 and 2019 General Elections, he was the only Scottish Labour MP.
As Scottish Secretary, Murray garnered praise for his handling of relations with Scotland’s governing party, the Scottish National Party. One important action Murray took was persuading the SNP to allow the Scottish National Investment Bank (run by the Scottish Government) to invest in defence companies that arm Ukraine.
Alexander served in several cabinet roles in Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s Governments, including as Scottish Secretary. Alexander previously served as the General Court Assessor at the University of Edinburgh Court, which is the University’s governing body.
In a statement issued following his removal, Murray said he was proud to have secured funding for Edinburgh University’s supercomputer, and that he would support the Government from the backbenches.
Unfortunately for Starmer, a backlash against Murray’s removal ensued before Murray being appointed as a Minister of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Starmer will also have to handle the election of a new Labour Party Deputy Leader after the resignation of Rayner.
The Prime Minister’s ethics advisor, Sir Laurie Magnus, found Rayner to be cooperative in compiling the report. Rayner had sold her 25 per cent share in her Ashton-under-Lyme house to a trust established in 2020 to manage a payment to one of her sons, who has lifelong disabilities. As a result, when she bought her £800,000 Brighton seaside flat, she told the tax authorities it was her primary residence.
However, Rayner was liable for the higher rate because her son is under 18. This ensures that, although the property remains in the trust, Rayner was found to have maintained a tax interest in the Ashton house. Hence, she should have informed the authorities that her Brighton property was not her only home, which would have led to her paying as much as £70,000 in stamp duty, rather than the £30,000.
Rayner claimed that she received tax advice before paying the stamp duty. However, the conveyancer (the legal professional handling the legal and administrative process of transferring property between the buyer and seller) said she had not provided such advice.
The Prime Minister’s ethics advisor, Sir Laurie Magnus, revealed that two experts in trusts had advised Rayner to take full legal advice before buying the property. The Deputy Prime Minister avoided such action and as a result was found to have breached the ministerial code, prompting her resignation.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer published a three-page handwritten note thanking her for her time in Government, saying that while he was sorry to see his “true friend” resign, he understood the reasons.
In other changes, David Lammy was moved from Foreign Secretary to Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary. Yvette Cooper took over his Foreign Secretary brief, and was replaced as Home Secretary by former Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
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