Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has resigned after it emerged she failed to pay the correct amount of property tax on a recently purchased apartment, UK media reported Friday — a scandal that has shaken the Labour government and plunged Prime Minister Keir Starmer into fresh political turmoil.
Rayner, who also served as Housing Minister, admitted underpaying stamp duty on an £800,000 property in Hove, on England’s southern coast, after receiving what she called “poor legal advice.” Instead of paying the higher second-home rate of about £70,000, she paid only £30,000. She insisted the error was unwitting and linked to her sale of a stake in her Manchester home, which she placed in a trust for her children, funded by a medical award after her premature son was left with life-long disabilities.
“I acted in good faith,” she said, but her explanation failed to stem a growing storm. Opposition parties and right-wing tabloids branded her a hypocrite, citing her history of savaging Conservative ministers over tax and sleaze scandals. The row quickly spiralled, becoming a national scandal that made her position untenable.
Starmer initially defended his deputy but his support weakened by the day, particularly with Labour grappling with a housing crisis and floating tax rises — including on property. Critics said standing by Rayner had become politically impossible.
Her resignation robs Labour of one of its most talented and recognisable figures. Known for her plainspoken style, working-class roots and strong northern accent, Rayner had been a rare unifying force within Labour’s often fractious ranks. Raised in poverty on the outskirts of Manchester, she became a mother at 16, trained as a carer, and rose through the trade union movement before entering Parliament.
Her earthy, unpolished persona stood in sharp contrast to Starmer’s lawyerly reserve. Young voters in particular admired her “realness,” whether she was filmed dancing at Pride, partying in Ibiza, or vaping in an inflatable canoe off Brighton beach.
But her seaside lifestyle also became her downfall. The Hove apartment at the centre of the scandal crystallised public anger at a time when Labour is under intense scrutiny on housing. Although some tax experts offered sympathy — Dan Neidle of Tax Policy Associates called the UK’s stamp duty system “beyond messy” and said mistakes were easy to make — many noted Rayner’s past attacks on Tory ministers over their own tax affairs. In 2018 she accused then-Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt of “sleaze” for exploiting a “Tory tax loophole” on property, and later demanded the resignation of former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi over his £5 million tax settlement.
Her fall adds to Labour’s mounting woes. Despite winning a landslide election in July 2024, the party has been haemorrhaging support to the insurgent, anti-immigration Reform UK, which now leads national polls and was holding its conference in Birmingham on Friday. Analysts note that, while Rayner’s resignation removes Starmer’s most obvious rival inside Labour, it caps a dismal summer for the Prime Minister as he fights to hold his party together amid plunging popularity.
Boluwatife Enome
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