Angela Rayner’s Stamp Duty dodge

0:02Hi, I'm Charlie Duffield and welcome back to The Standard Podcast. If you're new here, hit follow and give us a rating. For all the latest news, head to standard.co.uk. Coming up later in the show, is the era of the Mayfair Club restaurant over?

0:27But first, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is facing growing pressure over her property portfolio amid accusations that she saved£40 ,000 in stamp duty by declaring that a flat in Hove was the only one she owned. It comes amid suggestions that briefings against the Deputy Prime Minister are being fuelled by a Labour civil war over who should succeed Sir Keir Starmer. Conservatives have called for Reyna to face an ethics inquiry in response to reports that she saved tens of thousands of pounds in stamp duty. Critics have accused her of hypocritical tax avoidance by a minister who supports higher taxes on family homes, high-value homes and second homes.

1:12However, Education Secretary Bridget Philipson has said it is up to Angela Rayner how she spends her money and the Deputy Prime Minister has pledged to stand in her Greater Manchester constituency at the next election, despite buying a new property 260 miles away. Joining us now is The Standard's Chief Political Correspondent, Rachel Burford. Rachel, remind us why Angela Rayner has been in the headlines over the past few days. So this is quite a sort of complicated and convoluted story. But essentially, it centres around the fact Angela Rayner bought an£800 ,000 flat in Hove near Brighton in May.

1:53And there have been questions about the amount of stamp duty she paid on that purchase. There have been reports that shortly before she purchased this home in Brighton, her name was taken off the deeds of a house that she owns in Ashton-under-Lyne, which is in Greater Manchester, in her constituency. she's been accused of avoiding£40 ,000 in stamp duty. She would have had to pay£70 ,000 because this would have been a second home. But because she removed her name from the deeds of her house in Greater Manchester, she only had to pay£30 ,000, which is a£40 ,000 saving. That is the sort of allegations.

2:33Her team says she's done absolutely nothing wrong. There is no suggestion that she's broken any laws, but perhaps doesn't look great that the housing secretary is seen to be avoiding stamp duty, which is an already quite controversial tax. What has the reaction been from Labour MPs and the Tories? So Angela Rayner's Labour colleagues have backed her completely. They said that she's done absolutely nothing wrong. They have said that she can spend her money the way she wants. She's declared everything properly, which is sort of basically just reflecting what her team is saying. Prime Minister's official spokesman this morning said that the Prime Minister has full confidence in Angela Rayner.

3:11He did say there is a court order which restricts her from providing further information about the house sale, which she's sort of working to rectify. Sort of quite mysterious, but I think it sort of relates to the fact that her house in Greater Manchester is a family home. She has children and her ex there, so she can't exactly lay out perhaps all the information that she would want to about the sale. On the Conservative side of the House, the story is quite different. They're calling for the Deputy Prime Minister to face an ethics inquiry. They say she has questions to be answered over this.

3:43They're suggesting that she split the ownership of her£650 ,000 constituency home in Greater Manchester with a trust. They're suggesting that perhaps that was done to avoid potential inheritance tax for her three children at a later date. This is something that Angela Rayner's team have totally denied. But they're saying that the deputy prime minister has questions to answer about this. They want her to face an ethics inquiry. Some Tory MPs are also suggesting that this kind of briefing against Angela Rayner is actually coming from within Labour ranks themselves. Labour are sort of floundering in the polls at the moment, losing voters to reform.

4:18It seems Sir Keir Starmer is not particularly popular as Prime Minister at the moment. And there is rumblings that Angela Rayner would be a kind of favourite, perhaps, to replace Starmer when that time came. She'd have her people that didn't want to see that happen in the party. So the Tories are suggesting that there are people within the Labour Party that are already laying the foundations of these sort of Angela Rayner attacks to prevent any kind of challenge that she may present to the Prime Minister when a leadership challenge does happen. So is the controversy justified? There is no suggestion that she has broken any rules or laws.

4:56But the housing minister being accused of not paying her fair share of stamp duty on a second home is obviously not a good look. She's got this constituency home that's worth£650 ,000 in Greater Manchester. She now has an£800 ,000 flat in Brighton. She also has a grace and favour home provided by the taxpayer in London, Abelty House, which she gets for free as part of her job. We are facing a housing crisis in parts of this country. So when you've got the housing secretary being accused of not paying her fair share, it's not a good look. And it comes at a time when the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, are looking to balance the books and in her upcoming budget in the face of a quite bad economic outlook in this country.

5:45And there's been a lot of rumours that she's weighing up for the property taxes as part of that. The government won't be enjoying these stories coming out about Angela Rayner every day. The Chancellor's budget is coming up in the autumn. she needs to find 40 50 billion pounds in that and there is a lot of rumors about where she's going to be making up that money and there is going to have to be some of it if not vast bulk of it is going to be coming from taxes and there have been lots of rumors about what's going on with property taxes so i think you've got all these stories coming back about how the chancellor is going to tax homeowners make it more expensive to buy a home and then suddenly you've got this story about the housing minister who is looking like she's somehow avoided paying as much stamp duty as she should have done.

6:29So it's a story that's come at the right time for the Conservative Party and political rivals. Very few people get a taxpayer-funded home and then are allowed second homes for work and things like that. So yeah, she's in a unique situation. And is there anything else you want to add? Angela Rayners took her name off the deeds of her family home in Greater in Manchester that she shared with her ex and her children. There is complications around that. And this morning, Number 10 said there is a court order which restricts her from providing further information, which she is working to rectify. So I think there is perhaps a bit of frustration in the Deputy Prime Minister's office at the moment about all these stories.

7:14And I think her hands are tied a little bit about what she can and cannot say because it involves her family and her personal life there's frustration from her side that she can't just lay all the cards out on the table and say this is what happened and this is why it happened and um all she can say she hasn't done anything wrong and there is no suggestion that she has but she can't literally come out and say this is why this has all happened there's sort of gaps in the information from the public's point of view but I think Angela Rayna's hands are a bit tied at the moment and in the coming weeks perhaps she will be able to release more information about what's happened and the reasons behind her acting the way that she did.

7:59Let's go to a break. Coming up in part two, in Saint-Tropez, Ibiza and Mykonos, party restaurants enjoy a roaring trade but are they still working in London? We'll see you back here in just a moment.

8:24Welcome back. Now the combination of good food and a party atmosphere sounds like a win-win surely but in the capital it's proving harder than ever to attract clientele. Once the next big thing in hospitality, the so-called clubstorant has proven popular in New York and began as a loud, brash realisation of performative dining. But in London, such establishments are now shifting gear in favour of comfort-led ease and simplicity. I spoke to food and drink writer Amira Arasta, who has been tracking their demise. Amira, how would you describe a clubstorant? So I guess a clubstorant is self-explanatory in the sense that it's a mix of a club and a restaurant.

9:07For me personally, it goes beyond just having a DJ. I know a lot of places are having DJs supply the music and that's great for building atmosphere, creating a fun vibe. But for me, a clubstoron is more of a theatrical spectacle, not just the DJ deck. And some key examples in London would be, I suppose, Coya, Mayfair, Bagatelle back in the day, Parc Chinois. Leo London is an excellent one that I didn't actually write about in my article but that's a great one as well what's the appeal for you what do you like about such venues I think for me going out to eat and drink is about having an overall enjoyable experience as I'm sure it is for most people I'm always up to try anything that's being sold to me as new fun enjoyable but particularly a club store on it just the atmosphere that is created just really you know helps I'm sure we've all been to restaurants where maybe the food wasn't top tier but the overall experience and the ambience made it a really top tier experience overall I find this with bottomless brunches as well I love a night out but sometimes I don't want that to be at night like sometimes I get tired so it's quite nice to have that experience not going into the 3am mark and I think that's what these kinds of places do allow for.

10:30What sort of transition is happening now and what's driving the shift? I've just noticed there has been that transition and kind of veering away from the mad theatric and this is why I was saying earlier, I think a lot of places still brand themselves as a clubstorant because they have DJs and they have that kind of, I suppose, typical club vibe of the music and the loudness and the busyness but they are kind of downsizing a bit in my mind there are still some don't get me wrong it's not like we've got none at all like Inca has its night but immersive dancing Koya's brunch still has the saxophonist and dances and such but yeah I think we are moving away from it a little bit and I think that it's nothing necessarily bad like I do think money comes into it 100 % that you know there's less money being pumped into this kind of experience but possibly because that's not necessarily what diners are looking for or need anymore so why would you put that why would you invest into that when that's not what you need to get bums on seats kind of thing you know we are looking at more stripped back dining where people are going for the food you know I think rotisserie chicken having its moment is kind of a classic example of how people just kind of want a home comfort when they're dining out.

11:48So I think it's about restaurants being adaptable. Is this something which only London is struggling with? I think Leo London is a great example. It's not the same as it is in Ibiza. And in Ibiza, it is this performance. It's like you're transported into The Greatest Showman, you're at a circus, you're at a burlesque show, you've got 10 shows in one whilst you're having dinner. They have tried to do that in London. I

12:15from most people that I've spoken to, so it's not just myself, has been that, you know, I'd eat that does it better. Is that because we prefer that when we're abroad? Is it more fun to go bigger and harder when we're on holiday, perhaps? Because, you know, that a lot, a couple of restauranteurs and branding experts also touched upon was that this kind of thing works in Saint-Tropez, perhaps. It works when we're on holiday. Is it because we're happy to have that experience when it's a treat, not when we're just going for dinner in our home city. So do you think these restaurants can survive without the glitz and glam?

12:52I think they can absolutely survive if they are able to adapt. And I think, again, this isn't just something that's specific to Clubster on. It's about any restaurant, any venue in London or anywhere, just being able to adapt to what is the trend of the time. And obviously it is actually very helpful when you've got a brand that can fit into different models obviously it's harder if you you know when club restaurants were a big trend obviously you've got a tiny little sushi bar it's probably not going to capitalize on that movement but if you've got a restaurant that can be shaped into different things depending on what people want then that's great and that's what asher grant said in the piece he said you know we've just always got to be focused on what the clientele want.

13:38Obviously, if you just want good food, a club store is not going to be something you're looking for. But that's the beauty of London. We have so many different restaurants that cater for different people's wants and needs. I do think it's quite interesting with social media and TikTok, especially kind of having the influence it does. A lot of the time, I feel like people are going to places to tick it off their social media bucket list, like I saw on TikTok so let me let me go there I think good food is always going to win at the end of the day if you're going to be spending that much money then you would want good food personally I do want a good experience but I suppose I could go and get a club experience and tailor the cost you know maybe I go at a time where the entrance fee is little to none or I don't drink and then I've still got the the music the DJ the dancers and that you know those theatrics without spending that much money so I guess I can understand why people may be more on a budget and not looking to absolve that cost from having it mixed into one when they're going for dinner I think ultimately people want to come home being like I've spent that much money and I don't regret it.

14:54And what sort of cuisine do these restaurants tend to offer? That's actually a really interesting question so So, I mean, again, my prime anecdote was bagatelle and that's kind of Mediterranean cuisine, French, Italian. I think a lot of them do well with sushi, small plate. I think quid does a good cuisine because, you know, when you're having that hearty element, I always find it interesting when there's drinking combined with like Italian food, for example, because I find Italian food quite heavy. So if I'm having heaps of pasta, that's probably not pairing well with me dancing on the table.

15:32and that's the standard for all the latest news head to standard.co.uk if you'd like to get in touch please do drop us a line at podcasts at standard.co.uk we'll be back here tomorrow at 5 p.m we'll see you then