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The damage is immense. In retrospect, it seems incredible that Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner thought they could tough it out before establishing the facts.
But they did, and not for the first time.
Politics latest: Starmer starts cabinet reshuffle
So, before we assess this particular case, it highlights a pre-existing nagging doubt. Is speaking without checking a defining pattern of this government?
Tax promises. Welfare cuts. Tulip Siddiq. Waspi Women. The initial winter fuel plan. The vow there would be no winter fuel U-turn.
Even a cast-iron guarantee in July that there would be no reshuffle this month – now there might be three, if you include junior ministers next week.
Each one: an action taken or promise made, combined with fighting talk – before reality dawns and the government retreats into reverse.
Is the word of ministers and their advisers in this government worth less than it should be?
Starmer and Rayner casually tossed untruths
So now this.
For days, two of the most senior politicians in the UK have clutched at factually inaccurate (Rayner) and emotionally charged (Starmer) smears against media reports that are today vindicated, and in doing so, casually tossed untruths into the public domain – even though behind the scenes they were still checking the facts.
The issue hinged on whether Ms Rayner should have paid a lower level of stamp duty on her new Hove flat, because it was her main home, or whether the rate £40,000 higher was due because of her interests in property elsewhere.
Read more:
Angela Rayner resigns after admitting she did not pay enough tax
The working class mum…
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