The former deputy prime minister could now put herself forward in a contest to replace Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
LONDON — Angela Rayner has been cleared of wrongdoing in a tax investigation, removing a potential hurdle to any bid to become the next leader of the ruling Labour Party.
The former deputy prime minister told the Guardian newspaper and ITV News that the U.K. tax authority HMRC concluded she “didn’t try to avoid paying tax” or “wasn’t careless in the way in which I conducted myself” following an investigation into unpaid property tax, which was launched last fall.
It comes at a crucial time, with Keir Starmer’s leadership under threat. Health Secretary Wes Streeting is widely expected to launch a leadership challenge against the prime minister as soon as Thursday.
Rayner is seen as a standard bearer of the soft left of the Labour Party, and is popular with grassroots members. She was the party’s elected deputy leader from 2020 until she resigned over the tax investigation last fall.
Allies of the ex-Cabinet minister have made clear Rayner would be prepared to stand in a leadership contest if required.
When asked by ITV about her ambitions, she declined to rule out a tilt at the top job, saying: “I want us to pull together. I’ve said we have to do better and we all have to pay our part in that, and I will play my part in delivering on that.”