Controversy over Rayner’s seaside property intensifies amid £40,000 stamp duty allegations

29 August 2025 , 11:01

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Controversy over Rayner’s seaside property intensifies amid £40,000 stamp duty allegations

Recently, fellow cabinet members and political allies have defended the Housing Secretary’s home purchase after she spent £800,000 on a seafront property in East Sussex.

The move prompted many to accuse the Deputy PM of ’hypocrisy’ regarding the ownership of “three pads”.

This follows Ms. Rayner’s decision to give councils the authority to increase taxes on second homes, as the purchase becomes part of her property portfolio, which includes two other residences.

The “holiday home” in Hove now stands alongside her three-bedroom grace-and-favor flat in central London and her constituency home near Manchester, bought for £650,000.

This comes as Stephen Kinnock, Minister of State for Care, defended the Deputy PM, telling Nick Ferrari at Breakfast that Ms. Rayner had "done absolutely nothing wrong."

The Deputy Prime Minister, whose address in Greater Manchester was previously listed as her primary residence for tax purposes, is believed to have removed her name from the house’s deeds prior to her latest purchase.

James Smith