Key Points
- Starmer calls her a “trusted colleague and true friend” but accepts resignation.
- Tax underpayment estimated at £40,000; Rayner admits error and takes responsibility.
- Resignation fuels Reform UK attacks, deepening pressure on Starmer.
BIRMINGHAM, England: British Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner resigned on Friday after admitting she had underpaid property tax on a new home, a development that Britain’s independent adviser on ministerial standards ruled was a breach of the ministerial code.
Rayner, 45, said she “deeply regretted” her mistake and would take “full responsibility” after concluding she had failed to seek specialist tax advice on a complex transaction involving the sale of her share of a family home to a trust for her disabled son and the purchase of an apartment in Hove. The underpayment amounted to about £40,000 ($54,000).
In a resignation letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Rayner said: “Given the findings, and the impact on my family, I have therefore decided to resign.”
Starmer, who had initially defended his deputy when the allegations surfaced, accepted her decision with regret. In an emotional reply, he described Rayner as a “trusted colleague and a true friend,” adding: “On a personal note, I am very sad to be losing you from the government … Even though you won’t be part of the government, you will remain a major figure in our party.”
The resignation is the eighth ministerial departure from Starmer’s team and the most senior to date, leaving him with more early-term resignations outside reshuffles than any British leader in nearly half a century, according to a tally of ministerial exits compiled by Reuters.
The independent adviser on ministerial standards said Rayner had relied on general legal advice but had failed to act on a recommendation to obtain specialist guidance, concluding that “in these circumstances, I consider the Code to have been breached.”
The political fallout was immediate. At Reform UK’s party conference in Birmingham, Nigel Farage said Labour was in “deep crisis” and warned an early general election could be called in 2027 despite the government’s large majority. “Despite all the promises that this would be a new, different type of politics, it is as bad, if not worse, than the one that went before,” Farage told delegates.
Rayner, who rose from a working-class background to become a prominent figure capable of bridging Labour’s left and centrist factions, had been seen as Starmer’s strongest grassroots ally. One Labour lawmaker, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters: “Any resignation is a blow, especially Ange, but she clearly had to go,” while suggesting Rayner could mount a future leadership challenge once the dust settles.
Her resignation follows days of scrutiny after she referred herself to the adviser, admitting midweek that her initial interpretation of the tax law had been mistaken and that she was making arrangements to settle the additional liability.
For Starmer, the loss of his deputy comes at a politically sensitive time, with Labour trailing Reform in some opinion polls and facing renewed attacks over ethics and transparency.
