A fierce disagreement broke out on GB News over whether Angela Rayner's working-class origins should mitigate criticism of her £40,000 stamp duty underpayment on an £800,000 Hove property.
Labour Councillor Sebastian Salek defended the Deputy Prime Minister during the broadcast, questioning what constituted hypocrisy in the case and highlighting the complexity of her situation involving a disabled child.
GP Dr Renee Hoenderkamp strongly rejected this defence, expressing frustration at what she perceived as special treatment based on background.
"I am so tired of this, 'poor old Angela, she's a working class girl with a tough backstory', so have I," Dr Hoenderkamp stated during the exchange.
GP Dr Renee Hoenderkamp and Sebastian Salek locked horns on GB News
|GB NEWS
The debate centred on whether personal circumstances should influence accountability for tax errors.
Dr Hoenderkamp continued her criticism, arguing that many individuals from modest backgrounds have overcome challenges without expecting special consideration.
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"You don't know what it is because I don't talk about it, I don't need to. Anywhere I get in life, I get on my own merits," she declared.
The GP emphasised that numerous working-class people who have succeeded through their own efforts would welcome avoiding stamp duty payments but would face prosecution and penalties from HMRC if they failed to pay.
Angela Rayner admits wrongdoing over tax affairs - WATCH
"Should they do that, they would be taken to court and fined by HMRC but for Angela, because she has a complicated life, it's okay," Dr Hoenderkamp argued.
Mr Salek countered by invoking the presumption of innocence, asserting this principle should apply in public discourse as much as in legal proceedings.
Ms Rayner's journey from a Stockport council estate to Britain's second-highest political office has become central to the controversy.
Born in 1980, she grew up caring for her mother Lynn, who battled depression and illiteracy, whilst her father remained largely unemployed.
The row broke out on GB News over Angela Rayner's tax affairs
|GB NEWS
After becoming pregnant at 16 and leaving education without qualifications, she worked as a council care worker before rising through trade union ranks at Unison.
The property at the centre of the current scandal was purchased for £800,000 in May, with Ms Rayner using £160,000 from a trust established for her disabled son as a deposit.
The trust had been created in 2020 following a damages award for her son, who was born prematurely, with the remaining £650,000 financed through a mortgage.
Ms Rayner acknowledged on Wednesday that she had incorrectly paid stamp duty on the Hove flat after initially receiving advice that it qualified as her primary residence.
Angela Rayner admitted to a stamp duty underpayment | GETTYShe subsequently discovered that her Ashton property was actually her main home, leaving her liable for over £40,000 in additional stamp duty payments.
The Deputy Prime Minister has referred herself to Sir Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister's independent adviser on ministerial interests, whose findings will determine her political future.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves expressed "full confidence" in her colleague whilst acknowledging that "it is incumbent on all of us to try to properly understand the rules."
Science Secretary Peter Kyle defended Ms Rayner, suggesting she faced different treatment "because she wasn't born in wealth" and arguing the legal advice she received was at fault rather than her actions.
The Deputy Prime Minister has weathered multiple controversies throughout her political career, with supporters attributing much criticism to prejudice based on her background.
A 2022 Mail on Sunday article cited anonymous Conservative MPs claiming she attempted to distract Boris Johnson during Prime Minister's Questions through provocative behaviour, whilst video footage of her dancing in Ibiza prompted her to defend herself by stating: "I'm working class, I like a dance."
She faced sustained criticism after calling Conservatives "scum" at Labour's 2021 conference, later apologising "unreservedly" following Sir David Amess's murder.
Graffiti reading "tax evader" recently appeared near her Hove flat, whilst last year she dismissed questions about her electoral roll address as a "classist, deliberate smear."
GB News host Miriam Cates argued the issue concerned potential rule-breaking rather than background, stating: "To say 'it's complicated, therefore she's guilty', that's just lazy."