LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stood by his chief finance minister after she admitted breaking housing rules when renting out her family home.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves issued an apology late Wednesday night after an investigation by the Daily Mail newspaper found she’d failed to obtain a rental license when putting her home on the market after moving into Number 11 Downing Street with her family.
The opposition Conservatives are calling for Reeves to quit, but Starmer said Wednesday that while “it is regrettable that the appropriate licence was not sought sooner,” he was “satisfied that this matter can be drawn to a close following your apology.”
The timing of the row is particularly awkward for the prime minister, who recently lost his deputy Angela Rayner over a housing tax scandal. His government is also about to preside over a tricky budget that could see it junk a key economic pledge not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT.
In the exchange of letters, sent to the media just after 11 p.m. Wednesday, Reeves said there were “selective licensing requirements” in the Dulwich Wood ward of Southwark council where her home was located. “Regrettably, we were not aware that a licence was necessary, and so we did not obtain the licence before letting the property out.”
The chancellor added: “This was an inadvertent mistake. As soon as it was brought to my attention, we took immediate action and applied for the licence.”
Reeves said she had contacted the U.K.’s ethics watchdogs — Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards Laurie Magnus and Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Daniel Greenberg — to probe the matter.
Writing back, Starmer said Magnus believed “further investigation is not necessary” as the Ministerial Code — which governs behavior of government reps in the U.K. — says “an apology is a sufficient resolution” in certain circumstances.
But the opposition Tories, already seeking to pressure Reeves as the budget looms, leapt on the row. Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch said the PM “must launch a full investigation” and “show he has the backbone to act” if Reeves broke the law.
Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride doubled down Thursday morning, telling Sky News it wasn’t “good enough simply to try and brush it under the carpet” and saying Starmer needed to “accept that her position is not tenable.”
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