Angela Rayner’s replacement as deputy leader of the Labour party must be a woman from outside London, former senior Labour figure Harriet Harman has said.
Baroness Harman, who served as deputy Labour leader to Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband, said she was “dismayed and disappointed” that Rayner had left government.
Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) will hold talks this week to set out a timetable and rules for the contest to become the party’s new deputy.
The battle for the now vacant position is shaping up to be a battle over which direction the party takes moving forward.
In previous contests, Labour members, unions and MPs have all had a say on the outcome, however the NEC may change the rules in a bid to speed up the process.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Baroness Harman said Angela Rayner’s replacement must be someone who will “broaden the reach of the leader and galvanise the party”.
She said: “I think that, in terms of extending the breadth of the leadership, it probably needs to be somebody from outside London and it definitely needs to be a woman.
"We need somebody who is not a counterpoint to the leader, but is complementary to the leader, will broaden the reach of the leader and galvanise the party."
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner was forced to resign over her second home scandal last week.
Ms Rayner, who was also the Housing Secretary, is reported to have saved £40,000 in stamp duty on the flat because she removed her name from the deeds of a family property in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency, meaning the Hove property is the only property she owns.
The Deputy Prime Minister said incorrect “advice from lawyers” led her to pay too little tax when she purchased the property in Hove this year.
She told Sky’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast : “I’ve been in shock, really, because I thought I’d done everything properly, and I relied on the advice that I received and I’m devastated because I’ve always upheld the rules and always have felt proud to do that."
Angela Rayner said she had “alerted and referred” herself to the independent adviser on the ministerial code “as soon as” she learned she had been liable to pay additional stamp duty on a property.
The Deputy Prime Minister said she had taken legal advice on buying the flat in Hove which suggested she was “liable to pay standard stamp duty” but had then sought “expert counsel advice” following media reporting about the arrangement, and learned that she was liable to pay additional stamp duty.
She told Sky News: “As soon as I knew that that was the case, I have alerted and referred myself to the independent adviser on the ministerial code to ensure that they can look transparently at what has happened, and also contacted HMRC to say that, there is additional tax owing on this, and that I’m prepared to pay that and fully comply with the HMRC as well.”
But the conveyancing firm, Verrico and Associates, on Thursday said its lawyers “never” gave Ms Rayner tax advice and were being made “scapegoats”.
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