The Rayner Resignation

After the report of the government ethics advisor found that she had broken the ministerial code, the Deputy Prime Minister finally accepted that her position was untenable and resigned.

The key finding of the independent adviser on ministerial standards was that

"b) on the basis of the advice she received, Ms Rayner believed that the lower rate of SDLT would be applicable; indeed she was twice informed in writing that this was the case; but

c) in those two instances, that advice was qualified by the acknowledgement that it did not constitute expert tax advice and was accompanied by a suggestion, or in one case a recommendation, that specific tax advice be obtained; and

d) if such expert tax advice had been received, as it later was, it would likely have advised her that a higher rate of SDLT was payable."

His letter commented that

"Given the conjunction of the acknowledged complexity of her family circumstances, her position in Government (most importantly as Deputy Prime Minister) and the consequences of getting such a calculation wrong, it is deeply regrettable that the specific tax advice was not sought."

and concluded

"I consider, however, that her unfortunate failure to settle her SDLT liability at the correct level, coupled with the fact that this was established only following intensive public scrutiny, leads me to advise you that, in relation to this matter, she cannot be considered to have met the "highest possible standards of proper conduct" as envisaged by the Code. Accordingly, it is with deep regret that I must advise you that in these circumstances, I consider the Code to have been breached.

Yours sincerely,

Sir Laurie Magnus CBE, Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards"

I do not believe that any Conservative, Labour, Lib/Dem or Nationalist minister could, would or should have survived such a clear and unambiguous finding that the code had been broken.

It appears entirely possible that the underpayment of tax which led to Angela Rayner's resignation was a genuine mistake. If such a mistake had been made by someone with a track record of treating their opponents with respect and recognising that all human beings make honest mistakes, I would have had much more sympathy for her.

However, this is an individual who called her political opponents ‘scum’ at a conference reception, and repeatedly demanded the resignation or sacking of other politicians for - wait for it - not paying enough tax.

What goes around comes around and it is entirely Angela Rayner's fault that she has met the fate which she so often demanded for her opponents. 

Making a mistake with your tax in a complex area? A lot of us might think, "There but for the grace of God go I." 

But what can you possibly call someone who repeatedly demands the resignation or sacking of others explicitly for the offence of not paying enough tax, and then ignores two recommendations to seek specialist advice to make sure she doesn't inadvertently commit the same offence for which she had publicly called for others to lose their jobs?"

I can think of quite a few descriptions, but the kindest is probably "very silly."

Here is the ethics advisor's letter in full.