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Rayner was aways the embodiment of gobby Lefty entitlement.

The sympathy well is bone dry.

I've been away so catching up on this story.

I think I disagree on both of your counts.

The conveyancing solicitor pays the stamp duty land tax as part of their tallying-up process. Most people would not doubt or check that the tax stated by the solicitor is correct. Raynor, remember, is a dim Labour MP who is, like the rest, numerically 'uninterested'. I very much doubt she knows much about tax rates in general. I doubt, therefore, that this was deliberate.

She no doubt sold her remaining stake in the existing house to her child's trust so that the new property would be the only property she would own, meaning the penalty second home tax rate would not apply. I can understand this. When the error came to light she immediately offered to pay the extra to HMRC.

So, as much as I dislike her, and think her unfit for office, I DO have sympathy over this issue and do not see it to be serious enough for her to go.

So not everyone on here's a shit. That's good to know.

Claudia Webbe the latest MP who can’t do basic maths.

https://x.com/claudiawebbe/status/1963549666403840509

To paraphrase, assets of billionaires are £620bn, taxing them 3% raises £40bn which funds the entire NHS.

Err no Claudia, 3% of £620bn is £18.6bn, and the NHS budget is more than £200bn.

(Assuming of course that the billionaires don’t relocate to Delaware or Dubai, and just happily pay 3% of their wealth every year).

Why is it that so many politicians are all at sea when they need to deal with numbers greater than they can do on fingers and toes? The inability to sort out millions from billions from trillions should disqualify them from office, when the job of running the country requires a rudimentary understanding of Big Numbers.

I think the nail in the coffin was the statement from her conveyancers after she tried to throw them under the bus.

I wonder if she had kept strum she might have got away with it. Instead she came out throwing everybody else under the bus, claiming was them lawyers fault.

I am sure TSE will tell us, "You come at the king lawyers, you best not miss."

It will annoy many on here, but the Telegraph were at the forefront of the investigations and the only unknown is who was doing the leaking to them ?

Yup big scalp for the Telegraph. Last night's exclusive statement from the conveyancing firm was when it was all over.

I did post their statement on here and said I leave it there

It was obviously a devastating response but the conveyancers were quite rightly defending their position

Raynor also claimed to have consulted two different trust lawyers, as well as her conveyancers. I presume those consultations turned out to be imaginary, or at the very least wildly insufficient to protect her from any liability.

Angela Rayner broke the ministerial code by failing to pay the correct amount of stamp duty on her seaside flat, the ethics watchdog has found.

In his letter to the Prime Minister, Sir Laurie Magnus, the independent adviser on ministerial interests, said: “It is highly unfortunate [...] that Ms Rayner failed to pay the correct rate of SDLT on this purchase, particularly given her status and responsibilities as the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and as Deputy Prime Minister.

“She believed that she relied on the legal advice she had received, but unfortunately did not heed the caution contained within it, which acknowledged that it did not constitute expert tax advice and which suggested that expert advice be sought.”

Sir Laurie said it was “deeply regrettable that the specific tax advice was not sought”, adding: “I believe Ms Rayner has acted with integrity and with a dedicated and exemplary commitment to public service.

“I consider, however, that her unfortunate failure to settle her SDLT liability at the correct level, coupled with the fact that this was established only following intensive public scrutiny, leads me to advise you that, in relation to this matter, she cannot be considered to have met the “highest possible standards of proper conduct” as envisaged by the Code.

“Accordingly, it is with deep regret that I must advise you that in these circumstances, I consider the Code to have been breached.”

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Was billy bullshitting about all this legal advice.

Rayner was aways the embodiment of gobby Lefty entitlement.

The sympathy well is bone dry.

I've been away so catching up on this story.

I think I disagree on both of your counts.

The conveyancing solicitor pays the stamp duty land tax as part of their tallying-up process. Most people would not doubt or check that the tax stated by the solicitor is correct. Raynor, remember, is a dim Labour MP who is, like the rest, numerically 'uninterested'. I very much doubt she knows much about tax rates in general. I doubt, therefore, that this was deliberate.

She no doubt sold her remaining stake in the existing house to her child's trust so that the new property would be the only property she would own, meaning the penalty second home tax rate would not apply. I can understand this. When the error came to light she immediately offered to pay the extra to HMRC.

So, as much as I dislike her, and think her unfit for office, I DO have sympathy over this issue and do not see it to be serious enough for her to go.