Angela Rayner has resigned as UK’s Deputy Prime Minister after a sleaze investigation concluded she breached the ministerial ethics code over unpaid tax on her £800,000 Hove flat.
The move, which also sees her step down as Housing Secretary and Deputy Labour Leader, has triggered a major Cabinet reshuffle this afternoon as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer scrambles to restore confidence in his government.
In a resignation letter, Rayner admitted she failed to seek “additional specialist tax advice” despite her ministerial role and complex family arrangements. “I take full responsibility for this error. I would like to take this opportunity to repeat that it was never my intention to do anything other than pay the right amount,” she said.
The row erupted after it emerged she had declared her new Hove flat as her primary residence, avoiding £40,000 in stamp duty surcharge. Reports also revealed she used £160,000 from a trust fund set up for her disabled son, money awarded by the NHS as compensation following his premature birth in 2008, to purchase the property.
Rayner initially remained silent on the controversy before breaking down in a Sky News interview on Wednesday, September 3. “I made a mistake based upon the advice that I relied upon that I received at the time. People make mistakes, but I conducted myself in trying to do the right thing, and I hope that people can see that,” she said. She explained that while she believed her sale of a 25 per cent stake in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency home exempted her from paying the surcharge, fresh legal advice later revealed that the arrangement, placed into a trust for her son, did not qualify. “Pressed on accusations she did not pay the correct stamp duty, she admitted: ‘They are accurate. Yes.’”
Graffiti branding her a “tax evader” has appeared on walls and construction boards near her Hove residence, underlining the public backlash. Critics accused her of hypocrisy, pointing to her record of attacking Conservatives for tax avoidance. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss called her a “first-class hypocrite,” while Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Starmer showed “no backbone” by backing her until the last moment.
Badenoch added: “I remember when the Prime Minister said tax evasion is a criminal offence, and should be treated as all other fraud. If he had a backbone, he would sack her.”
Rayner’s lawyers had earlier accused her of “scapegoating” them, arguing that she relied on flawed tax advice when she completed the purchase in May. But the revelation that she paid only £30,000 in stamp duty instead of the full £70,000 due proved politically fatal.
The scandal also raised questions about her property portfolio. Rayner was dubbed “Three Pads Rayner” after it emerged she had access to Admiralty House in central London as a grace-and-favour residence, owned a constituency property in Ashton-under-Lyne, and purchased the Hove flat. She defended the arrangement by insisting the family home in Greater Manchester, transferred into a trust for her son, remained her primary residence. “When I’m looking after the children, I go back to the family home. And then when my ex-husband is looking after the children, he does,” she said.
Despite her admission and mounting criticism, Starmer initially stood by his deputy, describing her decision to refer herself to the government’s ethics adviser as “the right thing to do.” At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, he said he was “very proud to sit alongside” her. But her resignation, confirmed Thursday, leaves a significant gap in Labour’s leadership and has prompted a new contest for Deputy Leader.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves will remain in her post, but Starmer is expected to announce sweeping changes in the Cabinet later today to steady his government.
Rayner’s downfall follows months of political turbulence for Labour since entering government, with opponents seizing on the scandal as evidence of broken promises on integrity and accountability. Tory Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly said: “Angela Rayner’s endless list of excuses simply does not stack up. Either she didn’t take proper advice, or is not being honest about how she conducted her affairs. This scandal has gone too far.”
As the dust settles, Labour faces both a leadership shake-up and renewed questions about trust, transparency, and the Prime Minister’s judgment.
