The police have launched an official investigation into allegations that Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour party, has broken electoral law. While marital living arrangements don’t immediately spring to mind when one hears the phrase “in contravention of electoral law”, this is where we are.
The question at hand is, what was Angela Rayner’s address more than ten years ago? Was it the home she registered as her permanent address (which she bought in 2007), or her husband’s house?
Under electoral law, voters must register their permanent home address. There are penalties for providing incorrect information when registering to vote and when standing for election. There is also a question over whether Rayner should have paid capital gains tax when she sold the house (which she would have been required to if it was not her primary residence).
The Labour party will hope that this issue becomes “Beergate” 2.0. – that the police find in Rayner’s favour, and everyone moves on. However, complicating matters – as highlighted by Financial Times journalist Stephen Bush – is that, well, they might not find in Rayner’s favour over her tax affairs.
And because it is too late to bring charges over any electoral law breaches from ten years ago, closure on that matter is not possible.
The ethics and standards issues that have troubled the Conservative government since its election in 2019 are........