Irony has been laid to rest after Kemi Badenoch hit out at Labour for their handling of Angela Rayner’s stamp duty controversy, accusing the government of ‘one rule for them, another for everyone else.’
On Friday, Rayner resigned as deputy prime minister and housing secretary in Keir Starmer’s cabinet, along with also leaving her role as deputy leader of the Labour Party.
This came after she admitted underpaying stamp duty on the £800,000 home and referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics adviser.
In her resignation letter, Rayner said she “deeply regret[s]” her decision not to seek additional specialist tax advice given her position in the government and her “complex” personal situation.
Just minutes after the news broke, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch shared a video message on social media in which she said it is “only because of Keir Starmer’s weakness that she wasn’t sacked three days ago.”
After hitting out at Keir Starmer and his government, Badenoch said it was “One rule for them, another for everyone else,” before adding: “The country deserves better, only the Conservatives under my leadership will deliver that.”
Almost immediately, people in the comments reminded Badenoch of the number of scandals and controversies Tory MPs had been involved in during their 14 years in power – not many of which resulted in resignations.
One person wrote on X: “With the history of Tory cheating regarding tax matters the Badenoch statement on the Rayner resignation is disgraceful.”
Someone else pointed to the controversies surrounding Nadhim Zahawi’s tax affairs last year.
A third wrote: “Someone taking accountability and resigning from their party is probably something you’re not used to Kemi.”