0:00
I mean, look, there were so many things that have gone wrong in this
0:03
I mean, firstly, the stamp duty question. Most people just look on the Internet. You've got Internet calculators
0:09
Before you buy your house, you say, what tax do I pay on this? You don't need a lawyer
0:13
I'd be very interested to see the lawyer's advice, frankly. And then secondly, there's the rank hypocrisy
0:19
I mean, I remember she was calling for Tory ministers' heads, not just Nadim Zahawi, but Dominic Raab, others
0:26
for falling foul, for falling short on standards. And she's done exactly the same thing relating to tax that she lambasted Zahawi for
0:36
And so I think her position is untenable, really. I'm sure we'll go through a merry dance and the prime minister says, oh, I'm going to stick by her and all of that
0:44
But I think that her position is very, very difficult. And if she stays, she'll just be a living example of the hypocrisy of the government
0:52
And I think politically, her staying will be even more damaging than if she were to resign
0:59
Now Kwasi she mentions in mitigation there was a complex situation around her son who has a disability and that prevented her from disclosing certain information She also says she took advice I guess for now we have to take that at face value Yeah we can take that at face value I imagine that the legal firm who gave that advice might be smarting if that not the case
1:17
Putting all that to one side, is this just wrapped in excuses
1:22
And more to the point, do you think the same excuses would wash if it was a Conservative
1:26
Of course they wouldn't wash. I mean, she would be the first if a Tory cabinet minister was in this position
1:31
She'd be the first to call for their head. So clearly there's a double standard here, hypocrisy
1:38
I'd be very interested to see the advice, because the way lawyers frame advice, it's not often very clear cut
1:44
And I'd be very interested to see what they actually said to her. She's obviously hiding behind that as a kind of, you know, a kind of bunker mentality
1:53
She's going to cling on to anything to defend her position. But to me, it's very straightforward
1:58
You have one main residence and you pay a certain amount of stamp duty. and then if you buy another house, you pay a different rate of stamp duty
2:05
It's that clear. And if she wanted more clarity, as I said, there are lots and lots of websites
2:11
that make these calculations all the time. People do that all the time when they're about to buy usually their main property