Angela Rayner has resigned from Government after an investigation into her tax affairs by Sir Keir Starmer’s independent standards adviser.
She had faced mounting pressure to stand down in recent days after admitting she underpaid stamp duty on the £800,000 flat she bought in Hove earlier this year.
In a letter on Friday, Ms Rayner told the Prime Minister that “I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice” and took “full responsibility for this error” as she resigned as Deputy Prime Minister, Housing Secretary and deputy leader of the Labour Party.
Ms Rayner paid £40,000 less of the surcharge on the property than she should have, as she claimed it was her main home rather than a second home, after her name was removed from the deeds of her family home in Greater Manchester.
But she had elsewhere described the Ashton-under-Lyne property as her primary residence.
Ms Rayner has since revealed, after a court order was lifted, that the home is held in a trust and is where she and her ex-husband jointly care for their disabled son.
Here the PA news agency looks at the timeline of events leading up to Ms Rayner’s resignation.
– In 2020, Ms Rayner’s son received a compensation award following difficulties in his birth and care, and this was used to set up a “court-instructed” trust to look after his interests. Ms Rayner has spoken in the past of the difficulties she faced after her son’s premature birth.
– Ms Rayner and her husband divorced in 2023. In that year, they transferred half the ownership of their Greater Manchester home to the trust. They agreed to an arrangement where their children would remain at the home while they both lived there on an alternating basis. The arrangement was also to benefit their disabled son, as the home is adapted to his needs.
– In 2024, before Labour came to power, Ms Rayner faced questions from the media over whether she paid the correct tax on the sale of a former home, a council house in Manchester. The police and HMRC both said no action needed to be taken.
– In January 2025, Ms Rayner sold her 25% stake in the Ashton-under-Lyne home to the trust. She however insists it remains her family home “as it been for over a decade”. The Telegraph reported she received £162,000 for the sale.
– In May 2025, she bought the flat in Hove. She used the lump sum from selling her Greater Manchester home towards a deposit for the new property, and obtained a mortgage to pay for the remainder.
– In August, photographs of Ms Rayner enjoying herself at the seaside in Hove were published by newspapers. The Daily Telegraph reported she may have saved some £2,000 in council tax on her grace and favour home at Admiralty House, in central London, because she suggested her Greater Manchester home remained her primary residence.
– Reporting by the Telegraph then revealed that Ms Rayner had taken her name off the deeds of her Ashton-under-Lyne home. This meant she had paid only £30,000 in stamp duty on her Hove flat, instead of the £70,000 which would have been required if it were considered a second home. The newspaper and Ms Rayner’s political opponents questioned the conflicting accounts about her Greater Manchester home.
– During the process of buying the flat, Ms Rayner took legal advice from several sources about the amount of stamp duty she needed to pay, none of which suggested she was underpaying. This proved to be inaccurate.
– On Friday August 29, she instructed a KC to review her position on stamp duty after reporting in the media. Initial advice from the KC came back on the evening of Monday September 1 and appeared to suggest differently from previous advice she had received.
– Sir Keir Starmer gave a full-throated defence of his deputy that Monday. But his official spokesman said a court order prevented the PM and his deputy from speaking in more detail.
– The court order, which prevented Ms Rayner from speaking about the arrangements for her son at her Greater Manchester home, was lifted late on Tuesday September 2.
– On the morning of Wednesday September 3, final legal advice from the KC arrived. Ms Rayner made a public statement, admitting she underpaid stamp duty. The Deputy PM also referred herself to the Prime Minister’s independent ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus and said she was working with HMRC to pay back any tax she owed.
– Sir Keir again defended Ms Rayner at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, and said he was “proud” to sit beside her. The Conservatives and Reform both suggested she should resign.
– On Thursday September 4, Downing Street said Sir Keir had been kept updated “as was appropriate” throughout. But No 10 continued to face questions from reporters about how much the Prime Minister knew and when.
– On Friday September 5, the Prime Minister received the report from Sir Laurie, who found that Angela Rayner “did not heed the caution” in legal advice she received when buying her Hove flat, and had breached the ministerial code.
– By noon, Angela Rayner’s resignation as Housing Secretary, Deputy PM and deputy leader of the Labour party had been confirmed.
– At 12.10pm, No 10 released letters from Sir Laurie to Sir Keir, Sir Keir to Ms Rayner and Ms Rayner to Sir Keir. In the latter, Ms Rayner told the Prime Minister: “I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice given both my position as Housing Secretary and my 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.”
