UK Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner resigned on Friday after an inquiry found she breached the ministerial code by underpaying property tax, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s struggling Labour government.
Rayner, a prominent figure on Labour’s left, admitted this week that she had underpaid stamp duty on a flat purchase and referred herself to the government’s ethics adviser.
In his report, ethics chief Laurie Magnus said Rayner had ignored legal caution, concluding she had breached the code.
“I accept that I did not meet the highest standards,” Rayner wrote in her resignation letter to Starmer, adding that she would also step down as Housing Minister and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. She admitted she regretted not seeking specialist tax advice and took “full responsibility” for the error.
Starmer said he was “very sad” to lose her from government but insisted she would remain a major figure within the party.
Rayner’s departure deepens Labour’s troubles since coming to power in July 2024. The government has faced U-turns on welfare reforms and energy support for pensioners, while failing to curb small-boat migrant arrivals. Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, now leads Labour in national polls, though no general election is expected before 2029.
Rayner’s case centred on stamp duty rules. After her 2023 divorce, she sold her share of the family home to a trust for her blind son’s future and bought an £800,000 flat in Hove. She paid a lower rate of stamp duty by declaring it her main residence, but later conceded that she was still deemed to hold an interest in the family home through her son.
Magnus acknowledged the rules were complex and that Rayner had twice been told the lower rate applied, but said her failure to obtain expert advice meant she fell short of the highest standards expected in office.
Rayner, 45, who rose from a deprived council estate in Stockport to become one of Labour’s most popular voices, had long been viewed as a potential future party leader.