LONDON — Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner resigned on Friday, marking a significant setback for Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his embattled Labour government. The move came after an investigation concluded that Rayner had breached the ministerial code by underpaying property tax, reported by AFP.
Rayner, a leading figure among Labour’s left-wing base, had referred herself to the government’s independent ethics adviser after admitting earlier this week that she had failed to pay the full surcharge on a seaside flat in southern England. Laurie Magnus, the ethics chief, concluded in a letter to Starmer that Rayner had not fully heeded legal advice and therefore breached the ministerial code.
“I accept that I did not meet the highest standards,” Rayner wrote in her resignation letter, also stepping down as housing minister and deputy leader of the Labour Party. “I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice. I take full responsibility for this error.”
Starmer responded that he was “very sad” to lose her but noted that she would remain “a major figure in our party.”
Rayner’s resignation compounds the difficulties facing Starmer’s government, which has struggled since taking office in July 2024 after 14 years in opposition. Policy reversals on welfare reforms and fuel benefits for the elderly, combined with failure to curb undocumented migration, have fueled support for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party. Labour now trails Reform in national polls, though the next general election is not expected until 2029.
The controversy centers on Rayner’s underpayment of stamp duty on a flat she purchased in Hove. Following her 2023 divorce, she sold her share of a family home to a trust fund for her blind, special-needs son and used the proceeds to buy the £800,000 property. She initially claimed the flat as her main residence, reducing her tax liability, but later acknowledged that her ongoing interest in her son’s house made the lower rate inapplicable.
Magnus noted the rules were “complex” and that Rayner had received qualified advice, but her failure to seek further guidance meant she did not meet “the highest possible standards of proper conduct.”
Rayner, 45, has been a prominent figure in Labour politics, known for her working-class roots in Stockport and her straight-talking style, often seen as a future party leader. Her departure leaves a gap in Starmer’s leadership team at a politically delicate time.
