Watch as GB News star Nana Akua locks horns with Labour Councillor Sebastian Salek over the public footing the council tax bill for Angela Rayner’s grace-and-favour home.
Nana said the optics do not look good for a Housing Minister who is seeking to impose an extra 100 per cent council tax charge on second homes.
Mr Salek insisted Ms Rayner has nothing to answer for and argued the debate is "laced with a heavy amount of misogyny".
He added that Ms Rayner not paying council tax on her Admiralty House flat is nothing unusual: “It’s owned by the Government and the Government pays council tax. There’s nothing new about that. Every politician who has ever lived in that building has not paid council tax.”
Nana said she 'does not like the optics' of Angela Rayner's housing situation
|GB NEWS / PA
Nana rejected this, saying: “That’s not true. There are a couple of exceptions. Michael Gove got in trouble and John Prescott did too.
"People did not like the optics of it, so they insisted they paid the council tax. I do not like the optics of this.
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“She has three potential properties she can live in. The one she is calling her main residence, which she is apparently rarely in. I don’t know the truth of that, but she designated it as her main residence just before purchasing another property, thereby saving herself about £40,000 in stamp duty.”
Mr Salek hit back, pointing out that Ms Rayner has not done anything illegal, something Nana acknowledged.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson MP defends Angela Rayner after the deputy PM was accused of 'tax dodging'
“Then where’s the story?” he asked. Nana replied: “It looks pretty bad, especially as the Housing Minister. The point is, she’s the Housing Minister who has been talking about wealth and people hiding their wealth, yet she is doing something that looks very much like tax avoidance to me.”
The councillor argued that Ms Rayner is often the target of media ire, saying: “Your only argument appears to be, ‘I don’t like the look of this,’ which feeds into the constant narrative around Angela Rayner. If she parties in Ibiza, she gets criticised.
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"If she vapes on the beach, she gets criticised. If she gets cosmetic surgery, she gets criticised. It’s really unpleasant to see.”
Nana countered that the Tories are calling for an investigation "because it doesn’t look good for a Housing Minister at all".
Nana put it to Mr Salek that Ms Rayner's housing controversy reeks of hypocrisy
|GB NEWS
Mr Salek dismissed this, saying the Conservatives are “trying to whip up a story” as they continue to flounder in the polls and struggle against Reform UK.
Ms Rayner’s Admiralty House grace-and-favour flat is designated as a second home, which means the taxpayer covers its council tax bill.
READ MORE: Angela Rayner blasted for £40k stamp duty dodge on 'chicken run' property: 'She should know better!'
Her primary residence is in Ashton-under-Lyne, around 200 miles from her office in London.
If her London property were classed as her primary residence, she would be liable to pay council tax on it. By declaring it a second home, she avoids the £2,034 bill, which is expected to double to £4,068 under a new premium on second homes introduced in April, the Telegraph reports.
Angela Rayner is thought to have saved £40,000 | PAInstead, the Government covers the cost, a move the Tories have suggested could be a "cover-up".
Conservative Party Chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: “It is staggering hypocrisy for the Deputy Prime Minister to push punitive new taxes on family homes while apparently avoiding those same taxes herself. One rule for Rayner, another for everyone else.”
Other ministers have paid council tax on grace-and-favour properties. For example, Michael Gove paid up while living at Carlton Gardens when he was a Cabinet Minister, despite also being an MP in Surrey.
A Labour Party spokesman said: “The Tories’ hypocrisy knows no bounds. These arrangements are the same as those in place under the previous Conservative Government. The second homes council tax premium was introduced by that same Tory government, and Kevin Hollinrake supported it at every stage.
"Angela takes her responsibilities seriously and pays the council tax she owes.”