Rayner Resigns as Deputy Prime Minister After £40,000 Stamp Duty Underpayment

Angela Rayner stepped down today as Deputy Prime Minister, Housing Secretary and Deputy Labour Leader after an inquiry found she underpaid £40,000 in stamp duty on a Hove flat purchase. In her resignation, Rayner accepted full responsibility for the tax error and acknowledged it breached the ministerial code.

Inquiry and Resignation An independent report by Sir Laurie Magnus concluded that, although Rayner acted with integrity, she failed to meet “the highest possible standards of proper conduct” when she did not seek specialist tax advice on her £800,000property purchase in May 2025. Rayner self-referred on 3 September and withdrew a confidentiality order to aid transparency.

Political Fallout

• Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a cabinet reshuffle following Rayner’s departure.
• Opposition parties seized on the scandal to question Labour’s ethics and competence.
• Reform UK leader Nigel Farage hailed the resignation as proof of “entitlement” within Starmer’s government.

Rayner’s Legacy and Next Steps Rayner, a long-time champion of working-class voters, built her profile on trade union support and outspoken criticism of Conservative tax scandals. Her exit triggers an internal Labour leadership contest for the deputy role and reshaping of the housing brief, key to Labour’s pledge to build 1.5 million homes. Negotiations are already underway to fill her posts, with senior ministers expected to vie for her influential positions in the coming days.