The Law Must Be No Respecter of Persons.

When ministers falter on their own taxes, they weaken the very trust that sustains our democracy. A Costly Misstep

The Deputy Prime Minister, Mrs. Angela Rayner, has admitted to an underpayment of stamp duty on her £800,000 flat in Hove. The discrepancy may amount to some £40,000. She attributes the error to the complex rules of trusts and the imperfect advice of her lawyers. Yet the matter is not so much one of arithmetic as of public confidence.

Every working family who buys a modest home must calculate their duty without barristers or silks. They know the consequences of error are swift. That a senior minister responsible for housing should stumble at this hurdle offends both symmetry and fairness.

Not an Isolated Case

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This is no new tale in Westminster. Nadhim Zahawi was cast down after settling a multimillion tax bill with HMRC. Hazel Blears and Maria Miller resigned when property arrangements proved too artful. David Laws lasted just 17 days at the Treasury before his own housing claims compelled retreat. Again and again, we see that those who ascend by the cry of public virtue descend by the whisper of private impropriety.

The Two Kingdoms of Law

The danger is greater than the sum unpaid. If citizens believe ministers may excuse their missteps with appeals to “complexity” while ordinary people face penalties, they conclude that there are two kingdoms within one island: one for the governed, another for the governors. Nothing corrodes democracy more surely than this suspicion.

Mrs. Rayner has spoken movingly of family burdens, divorce, and the long-term care of a disabled child. These are circumstances deserving sympathy. But the law does not bend to circumstance. It requires that all pay what is owed, regardless of biography.

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