Angela Rayner has resigned as the U.K.’s deputy prime minister and housing minister after an ethics watchdog found she breached the ministerial code by failing to pay the correct rate of tax on her seaside flat.
The scandal, first exposed by a Telegraph investigation, revealed Rayner had underpaid around £40,000 in tax when purchasing her property in Hove, known in the U.K. as Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT).
She initially pointed to legal advice she received at the time of the purchase, but later referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards and HMRC. Her lawyers later claimed they had been made “scapegoats,” saying they had never provided tax advice, were not tax specialists, and had advised her to seek an expert opinion.
Sir Laurie Magnus, the prime minister’s ethics adviser, concluded Rayner had fallen short of the standards expected of her office. “It is highly unfortunate that Ms Rayner failed to pay the correct rate of SDLT on this purchase, particularly given her status and responsibilities as the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and as Deputy Prime Minister,” he wrote.
— Angela Rayner (@AngelaRayner) September 5, 2025
“She believed that she relied on the legal advice she had received, but unfortunately did not heed the caution contained within it, which acknowledged that it did not constitute expert tax advice and which suggested that expert advice be sought,” Sir Laurie added.
He described it as “deeply regrettable that the specific tax advice was not sought,” saying that while Rayner had acted with “integrity and a dedicated and exemplary commitment to public service,” the failure to settle her liability correctly, and the fact it only came to light under intense public scrutiny, meant she could not be considered to have upheld the “highest possible standards” required under the ministerial code.
“Accordingly, it is with deep regret that I must advise you that in these circumstances, I consider the Code to have been breached,” he concluded in his advice to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Rayner announced her resignation in a letter to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on Friday, citing the toll on her family and acknowledging she had not met the standards expected of ministers. She said she had taken “full responsibility.”
In an interview with Sky News earlier this week, Rayner explained that she had sold her interest in her family home to a trust established for her disabled son.
Her family had received a financial award after suing the National Health Service following her son’s premature birth in 2008.
She used the proceeds from this sale to purchase another property in Hove, claiming to believe she had discharged her ownership of the family home and therefore needed to only pay the standard SDLT rather than the higher surcharge for those with more than one property.
In her resignation letter, Rayner pointed to the toll the scrutiny had taken on her family. “I must also consider the significant toll that the ongoing pressure of the media is taking on my family,” she wrote. “My priority has, and always will be, protecting my children, and the strain I am putting them under through staying in post has become unbearable.”
Leader of the opposition Conservatives, Kemi Badenoch accuses the prime minister of not having the stomach to fire his number two when the story first broke.
“Angela Rayner is finally gone, but it’s only because of Keir Starmer’s weakness that she wasn’t sacked three days ago. Britain deserves better,” she wrote on X.
Angela Rayner resigns.
The splits in Labour are coming. pic.twitter.com/EnEo728qZ2
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) September 5, 2025“It was inevitable. You can’t be housing secretary and avoid £40,000 worth of stamp duty,” said Nigel Farage in a video ahead of his Reform party’s annual conference. He said that Rayner’s resignation as deputy leader of Labour triggers an internal election for the position, and expects the “hard-left” to be rubbing its hands at the prospect of once again gaining influence.
