ANGELA Rayner is at the centre of a new hypocrisy storm after it emerged her boyfriend Sam Tarry works for a lobby group whose client got a £280,000 cash boost from the Labour Government.
The Deputy PM — already under fire over claims she saved £40,000 in stamp duty after buying her third home — had spent years in Opposition attacking the Tories for their ties with political lobbyists.
Rayner with Tarry, who was paid by political lobbying and consultancy group Henham Strategy[/caption]
Our shock revelation that partner Tarry was paid by political lobbying and consultancy group Henham Strategy will plunge her into a fresh row on the eve of Parliament’s return tomorrow.
Last night, Tory Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: “This is the height of hypocrisy from Rayner.
“She was all too happy to point the finger in Opposition but now in Government she’s turning a blind eye to her partner, and letting her apparent moral righteousness slide.”
The Deputy PM had promised to end the “revolving door between ministerial office and lobbying jobs” and to ban ex-ministers from lobbying for at least five years after they leave office.
Former Labour MP Mr Tarry was a Shadow Transport Minister until July 2022.
Henham Strategy has many clients with interests that fall under partner Ms Rayner’s brief in the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG).
They include Great South West, a group of councils and business partnerships in the South West of England, which was given £280,000 of exceptional funding last year.
Mr Tarry, a Labour MP until July 2024, has been seen with Ms Rayner at her new £800,000 seaside flat in posh Hove, East Sussex.
He is pals with Nick King, the managing director of Henham Strategy and a former Tory aide.
Mr Tarry and Mr King both play on the parliamentary rugby team and have been pictured smiling in team photos together.
Earlier this year, Ms Rayner went to watch the team play and posed for a picture with Mr King.
Posting the image online, Mr King praised the work done by Ms Rayner in her housing department and compared her to a key player on the pitch.
He wrote: “At Henham we are lucky to be working on many of the issues which the (Deputy Prime Minister) and her team are trying to tackle.
“With our great set of clients in local government, housing and planning, energy and infrastructure and beyond, it’s an enduring privilege to feel like the work we are doing is important, and that we are all pulling in the same direction.
“To offer a torturous rugby analogy, Angela Rayner is now our fly-half, orchestrating proceedings and calling the plays — I’m just happy to still be on the pitch.”
Ms Rayner was already facing accusations of hypocrisy after we revealed she now has three homes after buying the flat in Hove.
It is claimed she saved £40,000 on stamp duty tax by telling HMRC it is her main home.
Her latest controversy centres around the work Mr Tarry did at Henham Strategy, and whether she has been fully transparent about a potential conflict of interest.
The firm is on the national register of consultant lobbyists.
Its website says it uses its extensive networks “across the highest levels of national and local government” to “influence key decision-makers to deliver on their priorities”.
Great South West was one of its clients until March this year and paid the firm £45,000 last year.
Last November, Ms Rayner’s government department said it was axing core funding for what are known as pan-regional partnerships as the Treasury was cash-strapped — but made an exception for GSW.
It was given a one-off grant of £281,250 for this year.
The company confirmed Mr Tarry is an adviser to them.
Rayner’s partner is pals with Nick King, above, the managing director of Henham Strategy and a former Tory aide[/caption]
However, a spokesman added: “Sam Tarry does not conduct any work for Henham Strategy on any project related to MHCLG departmental responsibilities.
“He works advising us on a number of areas unrelated to that department to ensure no conflicts of interest arises.”
There is no suggestion Mr Tarry acted improperly or broke any rules.
Ms Rayner has declared his work on her declaration of ministers interests — but not mentioned him or Henham Strategy by name.
But the revelation he has worked for a registered lobbying organisation with clients given funding by her department does pose questions.
Ms Rayner also leaves herself facing accusations of hypocrisy as she has previously been so hardline in her criticism of lobbyists.
The Deputy PM had previously promised that under Labour rule, there would be “no more revolving door between ministerial office and lobbying jobs”.
She also criticised former PM David Cameron for lobbying Tory ministers for the finance group Greensill — and suggested he had only been hired for his contacts within the Conservative Party.
Ms Rayner said at the time: “Labour will ban former ministers from lobbying for at least five years after they leave office.
“No ifs, no buts.
“No letters after a role has already been accepted and no exceptions.
“A total ban. And consequences — including financial sanctions — if the rules are broken.”
Mr Tarry was never a Government minister, having been forced out of parliament at the 2024 election after being deselected by Labour members in Ilford South.
But he had been a Shadow Minister for buses and local transport.
And Mr Tarry has been in an on-off relationship with Ms Rayner for around four years.
Mr Hollinrake added: “Angela Rayner still faces serious questions, including whether she has recused herself from anything related to her partner’s interests, questions she refuses to answer.
“If she does not come clean about her affairs, she will confirm once again to the British public that it’s one rule for Labour, and one for everyone else.”
A spokesman for the Cabinet Office yesterday said: “There is an established process in place for the declaration of perceived or actual ministerial interests, overseen by the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards.
“The Deputy Prime Minister has followed that process.”
Mr Tarry did not respond to requests for comment.
The Deputy PM was already facing accusations of hypocrisy after we revealed she now has three homes after buying the flat[/caption]
£150k down on sea flat
Excl by Amir Razavi and Thomas Godfrey
ANGELA Rayner put down a £150,000 deposit on her new £800,000 seaside apartment, figures show.
Land Registry documents reveal that in May she took out a £650,000 mortgage with NatWest bank on the three-bedroom flat.
It comes as another Land Registry entry shows she had a share worth £162,500 in her constituency home in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancs.
It’s now been reported her name has been removed from the deeds of the four-bedroom property.
Mortgage experts said by putting down a 25 per cent deposit the Deputy PM was able to benefit from more favourable interest rates.
The revelation comes as Ms Rayner yesterday faced calls for an independent sleaze inquiry over allegations she dodged paying the full amount of stamp duty and council tax.
Labour MP Graham Stringer told Times Radio: “I think the optics of what she’s doing are really rather difficult. I’ve no idea if she’s broken any rules.”
He went on to suggest it was “looking as though you are manipulating the tax system to your benefit” — without directly accusing Ms Rayner of that.
It came as it was said Ashton-under-Lyne is Ms Rayner’s her main residence even though she no longer appears to be living there or has any ownership of it.
It is claimed it allowed her to dodge £40,000 in stamp duty, paying £30,000 instead of a potential £70,000, as she reportedly told tax authorities Hove was her main home.
The third home linked to Ms Rayner’s “three pads” is her grace-and-favour property in Admiralty House, central London, where her council tax is paid by the taxpayer.
The Tories have called for an ethics probe into Ms Rayner, with chairman Kevin Hollinrake accusing her of “staggering hypocrisy”.
There is no suggestion Ms Rayner has broken the law.
She was earlier this month seen enjoying family time in Hove, including sitting in a kayak in the sea, while clutching a vape.
We approached Ms Rayner for comment about her selling her third share of the Ashton-under-Lyne house.