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Angela Raina is fighting for her
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political survival and Kier Stalm's
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government is in trouble. After weeks of
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questions hanging over the deputy prime
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minister's tax affairs, she finally
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revealed that she underpaid stamp duty
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on her second home in South England by
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And this has just put further pressure
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on Labor as it faces accusations of
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hypocrisy, scrutiny over when details
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emerged, and a crisis over how it
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governs the UK. Reports in the national
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media put Rainer's purchase of a second
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home in Hoveve after the last two weeks
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in the spotlight with front pages
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calling out her legal maneuvers on her
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complex tax dealings. And the tax affair
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involved a partial sale of her
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constituency home to a trust for her
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children and the purchase of the home in
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Hoveve, whereby she may have owed more
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stamp duty than she actually paid.
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During this time, number 10 officials
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vehemently denied allegations that Raina
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had not followed tax rules. Then in an
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interview with broadcasters on
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Wednesday, she revealed that new legal
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advice she received meant she had indeed
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underpaid stamp duty. Raina said she
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referred herself to the ethics adviser,
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Sir Lori Magnus, who is set to give a
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decision on whether she broke the
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ministerial code. She also said she was
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only able to speak up after a court
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order was lifted on Tuesday night that
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had apparently prevented her from
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revealing details about her property
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arrangements. The deputy prime minister
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claimed she had received erroneous tax
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advice from three different experts
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which led to her underpaying tax. And
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new advice by a top lawyer was sought at
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the beginning of last week and that
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raises questions over whether Star told
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the truth about what he knew at each
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step of this process. In a statement,
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Raina said she was working with tax
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experts and HMRC to review her dealings
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after she transferred assets in the
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aftermath of her 2023 divorce. And at
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PMQs on Wednesday, Star jumped to the
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fence with his deputy prime minister,
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claiming he was proud to sit alongside
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her. This is all particularly awkward
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given Rea is not just the deputy prime
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minister but she is also the housing
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secretary. It also engulfves Labour in
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another hypocrisy row given Raina had
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previously called for the resignation of
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senior Tories including Nadim Zahari
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when he was in a dispute over tax
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affairs when she was in opposition and
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this all comes in a time when the
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Treasury is widely expected to reform
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property taxes at this year's autumn
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budget. Rumors have suggested that the
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stamp duty could be replaced by a levy
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on properties worth over £500,000.
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And so amid all the economic pressures
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facing the government, Stalin now faces
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a battle to keep his government intact.
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