Greater Manchester police are said to be reassessing claims that Angela Rayner broke electoral law after allegations emerged that she was liable to pay capital gains tax on the sale of her house.
The force confirmed that a detective chief inspector has been assigned to reconsider the case, after Tory deputy chairman James Daly complained that Greater Manchester police had failed to properly investigate claims against the Deputy Labour leader.
The Deputy Labour leader is embroiled in a row over whether or not she should have been liable to pay capital gains tax when she sold a house in 2015.
She sold her home in Stockport, which she bought through the right-to-buy scheme.
Greater Manchester police are said to be reassessing claims that Angela Rayner broke electoral law after allegations emerged that she was liable to pay capital gains tax on the sale of her house
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Rayner registered the former council house in Stockport as her main address on the electoral register, meaning she was not liable to pay capital gains tax on the £48,000 profit.
The police had initially said that the Labour MP would not face an investigation over claims she gave false information about her primary address on the electoral roll in a statement earlier this month.
But, according to the Times, Daly wrote to the police and argued that officers appeared not to have contacted witnesses or looked at the electoral roll or other relevant documents.
The police are now said to be reconsidering the case.
Writing to Daly on Monday, Cheryl Hughes, a detective chief inspector at Greater Manchester police, said: “I have read your letter outlining your concern over the lack of investigation into the matters you raised in your initial complaints to GMP on the 25th February regarding Angela Rayner MP.
“Following receipt of your recent letter dated 13th March 2024, I have been requested to review the circumstances you have outlined to reassess our decision around an investigation. I will update with the outcome.”
Rayner told the BBC there has been “no wrongdoing” and “no unlawfulness”.
She added: “I’ve been very clear there’s no rules broken. They [the Conservatives] tried to manufacture a police investigation … I got tax advice which says there was no capital gains tax. It’s a non-story manufactured to try and smear me.”
Rayner has said she "lived there, paid the bills there and was registered to vote there" until she sold the property in 2015.
The revelation of her £48,000 profit on the sale of her home was first revealed by Lord Michael Ashcroft in his book.
But the Labour politician accused him of taking an "unhealthy interest" in her family life.
In a statement on social media, the deputy leader of the Labour Party said: "I bought my council house back in 2007. I owned my own home, lived there, paid the bills there and was registered to vote there, prior to selling the house in 2015. All before I was an MP…
"I've never been a ‘landlady’, owned a property portfolio or been a non-dom. As with the majority of ordinary people who sell their own homes, I was not liable for capital gains tax because it was my home and the only one I owned.
"My husband already owned his own home independently and I had an older child from a previous relationship.
Rayner said there has been “no wrongdoing” and “no unlawfulness”
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"Our son was born just 23 weeks into my pregnancy and spent eight months in intensive care. He is legally blind. We mutually decided to maintain our existing residences to reflect our circumstances.
"Every family is different but it worked for us and we brought up our boys in a caring environment, surrounded by love.
"A wide network of friends and family were also there to support us, including my brother. He’d served in Iraq and was a dab hand at DIY."
Rayner added: "For all the unhealthy interest taken in my family by Lord Ashcroft and his friends, there is no suggestion any rules have been broken. Just a constant stream of smears from the usual suspects."