DEPUTY Prime Minister Angela Rayner has finally come clean about her council tax after a row over her three homes.
The Sun on Sunday yesterday revealed she had recently bought a seaside flat worth more than £700,000.
Last week, Ms Rayner was pictured drinking a large glass of white wine on a beach, dressed in a £165 Dryrobe coat[/caption]
She already had a home in Greater Manchester and a grace-and-favour Westminster apartment.
Meanwhile Ms Rayner’s housing department has approved rules letting councils double bills on second homes to help locals priced out in tourist hotspots.
After refusing to say which was her “main” residence, her office confirmed she pays full council tax in Ashton-under-Lyne and the second-home premium on her flat near Brighton.
They said bills for her Admiralty House flat are handled by the Cabinet Office and Westminster council, as with all ministers.
But Tories argue questions remain.
Both PM Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves pay full council tax on their Downing Street homes.
Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly said: “If she cannot be open about her own tax affairs while driving up everyone else’s, what credibility does she have left?”
A Labour source said: “Angela takes her council tax obligations seriously and she meets them in full.”
In her most recent expenses declaration, Rayner classified her home in her Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancs, constituency as her main residence[/caption]
Ms Rayner moved into Grade 1 listed Admiralty House in December last year[/caption]
Angela’s latest purchase is a luxury three-bedroom flat near Brighton[/caption]
Rayner (pictured with Sam Tarry) has finally come clean about her council tax after a row over her three homes[/caption]