UK prime minister Keir Starmer has moved swiftly to try to shut down speculation over the future of his chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves, just four weeks before a crucial budget.
Ms Reeves apologised after it emerged she let out her family home in London without the required licence, after Labour won the last election and she moved to a flat on Downing Street.
On Thursday she released emails with her letting agent that suggested the agent was meant to apply for the licence on her behalf but hadn’t done so.
In letters released by Downing Street, Ms Reeves told the prime minister she had made an “inadvertent mistake” by not obtaining the licence to rent out the property in Dulwich – such “selective licences” are required for some properties, such as long-term rentals, but only in certain geographic areas.
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Ms Reeves’s letting agent has apologised to her for not applying for the licence. It would have cost about £945. Her south London property is rented out for about £3,200 per month.
The Daily Mail newspaper contacted her on Wednesday to inquire about the lack of a rental licence for the property. The UK chancellor said she only realised her mistake at that point, and she immediately applied for a licence and apologised to the prime minister.
Mr Starmer referred the issue to Downing Street’s independent ethics adviser, Laurie Magnus, who assessed it for a possible breach of the UK government’s ministerial code. A code breach over a property issue forced the resignation in September of former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner.
The prime minister wrote back to Ms Reeves late on Wednesday evening to say that Mr Magnus had advised him that no further action was necessary because she had acted promptly to fix the situation and had also apologised.
Mr Starmer did not say if she had actually broken the ministerial code, but implied she had done so by highlighting that “an apology is sufficient resolution” for certain breaches.
“I am satisfied that this matter can be drawn to a close,” said Mr Starmer. Downing Street said it had confidence in the chancellor.
Labour’s political rivals, however, were having none of it on Thursday.
The Conservative Party’s leader, Kemi Badenoch, called for Ms Reeves to be sacked for breaking the law; despite constant criticism of the chancellor, this was actually the first time the Tories had called for her to go.
The timing was also crucial, in advance of the November 26th UK budget. Ms Reeves is believed to be considering tax rises to fill a £40 billion black hole in Britain’s national finances, which could be a breach of Labour’s election pledge not to raise certain taxes.
“It shouldn’t be one rule for them and another for the rest of us,” Ms Badenoch told Sky News. “If she [Ms Reeves] can’t get a grip of her own paperwork, how is she going to get a grip of the economy?”
Downing Street officials largely ducked the question of whether or not the chancellor had broken the code in a briefing with Westminster reporters on Thursday.
Previous speculation over the future of Ms Reeves, when she was filmed crying in the House of Commons, led to unease in financial markets. There were fears in the UK government that speculation over the potential loss of the chancellor from office barely a month out from such a crucial budget might have sparked further instability.
It would also have forced Mr Starmer into a second overhaul of his cabinet in as many months, after a previous reshuffle following the exit of Ms Rayner.
He has lost other senior ministers previously. Louise Haigh, the former transport secretary, quit 11 months ago when it emerged she had a spent conviction for incorrectly reporting that her phone was stolen in a mugging.
