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7 months ago
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Angela Rayner is facing fresh pressure to explain the sale of her former council home today as police reopened an investigation into whether she broke the law.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed it was looking into claims that the Labour deputy leader may have broken electoral law by registering at the wrong address more than a decade ago.
Questions have also been raised over whether she mispaid capital gains tax over the 2015 sale of a property in Manchester.
Police re-examined a decision not to investigate after a complaint by Tory Bury MP and deputy chairman James Daly.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: 'We're investigating whether any offences have been committed.
'This follows a reassessment of the information provided to us by Mr Daly.'
Labour said it remains confident that Ms Rayner has complied with the rules, and the deputy leader 'welcomes the chance to set out the facts with the police'.
And former party leader Ed Miliband said she was an inspiration and 'exactly the kind of person we need in politics'.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed it was looking into claims that the Labour deputy leader may have mispaid capital gains tax over the 2015 sale of a property in Manchester.
On Wednesday Ms Rayner was targeted by a Tory-sponsored 'tax dodger' protest as she broke cover on the election campaign trail in the North East
Ms Rayner has denied wrongdoing. But she has refused to publish tax advice which she claims exonerates her – and has not shown it directly to Sir Keir Starmer (pictured today), he has admitted.
Former party leader Ed Miliband said she was an inspiration and 'exactly the kind of person we need in politics', at an event alongside London mayor Sadiq Khan today.
The shadow energy minister told PA: 'We are absolutely 100 per cent behind Angela. We are absolutely confident that she has complied with the rules. She welcomes the fact she can set out the facts.'
He added: 'My message to the country is we are incredibly proud of Angela Rayner, our deputy leader.
'She is an inspiring person, she is exactly the kind of person we need in politics.
'If a Labour government is elected, I look forward to Angela Rayner serving as deputy prime minister. Frankly the Conservative party is a desperate party that has nothing to say to the country about the big issues that it faces. '
Ms Rayner has denied wrongdoing. But she has refused to publish tax advice which she claims exonerates her – and has not shown it directly to Sir Keir Starmer, he has admitted.
Before becoming an MP, Ms Rayner used Margaret Thatcher's Right to Buy scheme to purchase her former council home in Vicarage Road, Stockport, in January 2007.
She married Mark Rayner in September 2010 and the couple re-registered the births of their two sons that year, providing Mr Rayner's address in nearby Lowndes Lane.
But Ms Rayner remained on the electoral roll at Vicarage Road until 2015, when she sold the house at a profit of £48,500.
Knowingly providing false information on an electoral registration form is an offence, which can carry a six-month prison sentence or an unlimited fine.
A married couple can also normally have only one main residence, with capital gains tax due on the sale of a second home.
Mr Daly had responded to the force's initial conclusion after an 'investigative review' lasting just seven working days that 'there wasn't a case to answer' by raising concerns that his complaint was 'not handled properly'.
He asked the force to take another look to maintain 'public confidence'.
The Mail on Sunday has studied dozens of postings made by Ms Rayner on social media during the period in question showing her life with her children and cats at her husband's address
In response, Det Chief Insp Cheryl Hughes wrote back to say she has been 'requested to review the circumstances you have outlined to reassess our decision around an investigation.'
However questions were raised about the 'reassessment' of the allegation against the Ashton-under-Lyne MP after Mail Online last week ((((LINK)))) revealed that police hadn't spoken to neighbours who have repeatedly contradicted her version of events.
An 83-year-old who lived next-door to Mr Rayner's house a mile away told the Mail on Sunday that the Labour frontbencher was 'a f***ing liar' if she was saying she hadn't lived there.
The claims first emerged in Red Queen? The Unauthorised Biography of Angela Rayner by Lord Ashcroft, serialised in the Mail.
Under electoral rules, voters are expected to register at their permanent home address.
Ms Rayner insists she lived in the semi-detached former council house in Vicarage Road - paying council tax and bills - until weeks before her election as MP for Ashton-under-Lyne in May 2015, and never rented it out.
The mother-of-three and her then husband – they have since separated – both 'maintained' their own homes until setting up a joint marital home after she was elected to Parliament, she says.
Sources said she had 'never denied' that she also 'spent time' at her husband's terraced house in Lowndes Lane following their marriage.
After Mr Daly's second complaint, a spokesman for Ms Rayner said: 'Gossip and hearsay does not change the fact that Angela Rayner maintained her own home while sharing childcare responsibilities with her husband at his property.'
Ms Rayner was approached for comment on the police investigation.
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