As Angela Rayner apologises for stamp duty error, who is her partner and does she have any children?

The deputy Prime Minister said she has been “in shock” and “devastated” over the fallout from her property arrangements and that she has referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards.

Rayner said she had received inaccurate tax advice and had spoken to her family about quitting. The housing secretary has been under intense pressure over her tax affairs after media reports about her purchase of a seaside flat in Hove.

She was reported to have saved £40,000 in stamp duty on the flat because she removed her name from the deeds of a family property in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency, meaning the Hove property is the only property she owns.

In a statement issued earlier today (September 3), she said she had taken legal advice when she bought the south coast flat which suggested she was “liable to pay standard stamp duty” but had then sought “further advice from a leading tax counsel” following media reporting about the arrangement.

She learned that the initial advice had been inaccurate and that she was liable to pay additional stamp duty. That is because she had put her stake in her constituency home in Ashton into a trust set up in 2020 for her disabled son.

Tax experts said the Hove property could not be treated as her only residence because of the nature of the trust.

In her statement, Rayner said: “I have now been advised that although I did not own any other property at the time of the purchase, the application of complex deeming provisions which relate to my son’s trust gives rise to additional stamp duty liabilities.

“I acknowledge that due to my reliance on advice from lawyers which did not properly take account of these provisions, I did not pay the appropriate stamp duty at the time of the purchase. I am working with expert lawyers and with HMRC to resolve the matter and pay what is due.

“The arrangements I have set out reflect the reality that family life is rarely straightforward, particularly when dealing with disability, divorce, and the complexities of ensuring your children’s long term security. Every decision I have made has been guided by what I believe to be in my children’s best interests.

I deeply regret the error that has been made. I am committed to resolving this matter fully and providing the transparency that public service demands.

“It is for that reason I have today referred myself to the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, and will provide him with my fullest cooperation and access to all the information he requires.”

Who is Angela Rayner’s partner?

Currently, the deputy Prime Minister is in a relationship with Sam Tarry, a former Labour MP who served as shadow transport minister until July 2022.

A scandal involving Tarry broke out in the tabloids last week after it emerged that he had been paid by consultancy group and political lobbyists Henham Strategy. Their client received a £280,000 cash injection from the Labour government, casting further scrutiny on Rayner’s situation.

A spokesperson for the company said: “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.”

Does Angela Rayner have any children?

Rayner has three children, two of which came from her marriage to ex-husband Mark Rayner. The couple divorced in 2023.

The deputy Prime Minister also had a child when she was 16 years old, leaving Avondale Secondary Modern with seven low-grade GCSEs.

Speaking to the Oldham Chronicle in 2014, she said: “School wasn’t about education, but about larking around with my pals.

“My mother hardly went to school and can’t read nor write, and my father hardly ever worked due to health issues, so there was precious little money and certainly no reading material in our house when I was growing up.”