Angela Rayner has stepped down from her position in the UK government following an investigation into tax dealings surrounding the purchase of her new home.
The deputy prime minister, who has been Sir Keir Starmer's right-hand woman since 2024, faced an investigation this week from an ethics probe that looked into whether she broke ministerial tax rules, with an ethics advisor revealing she didn’t meet the “highest possible standards of proper conduct”.
It comes after Rayner admitted that she didn’t pay enough tax when purchasing a flat in East Sussex, with the politician reportedly saving around £40,000 in stamp duty.
The MP from Greater Manchester said it was a “mistake” which she blamed on improper legal advice at the time, but it’s prompted calls from some MPs for her to resign.
“I thought I'd done everything properly, and I relied on the advice that I received and I'm devastated because I've always upheld the rules and always have done,” she told Sky News. “And always felt proud to do that.”
Her departure will mark a considerable blow for Sir Keir Starmer, who has stood by the deputy PM throughout the investigation.
So what exactly has Angela Rayner done?
Angela Rayner’s stamp duty incident explained
The investigation boils down to the amount of stamp duty that Angela Rayner paid when purchasing a seaside flat in Hove, East Sussex.
The Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax that people pay when they buy a property in England and Northern Ireland over a certain price.
When people buy an additional property on top of an existing home, they’re usually required to pay even more SDLT on top of standard rates.
This is what has seemingly tripped Rayner up.
Earlier this year, the deputy PM paid around £30,000 in stamp duty after purchasing an apartment in East Sussex for £800,000.
The issue is that this stamp duty rate would only apply if this is a person’s sole property — which some argue wasn’t the case.
That’s because Rayner also had ties to her old constituency home in Ashton-Under-Lyne, which was registered as her primary residence for council tax reasons.
Following Rayner’s divorce in 2023, the deputy PM and her former husband had agreed on a “nesting” scenario where their children would remain in the family home in Ashton while the parents moved in and out.
The house was placed in a trust, and Rayner says she sold her stake earlier this year, allowing her to buy her Hove apartment.
Because her name wasn’t on the deed of the Manchester home, Rayner says she was advised that she paid the correct amount of stamp duty on her Hove apartment as if it were her only dwelling.
While the stamp duty process is a little confusing, it’s thought that she should have actually paid somewhere around £70,000 in tax.
What did she do wrong?
Rayner has admitted that she underpaid on stamp duty tax after the Hove property was identified as her primary home.
Although the outcome of the independent investigation into the controversy is yet to be made public, Rayner has confirmed that she is stepping down.
Ms Rayner maintained this week that she believed she was liable for the standard stamp duty rate following legal advice, but was later informed that the complex provisions regarding the trust “gives rise to additional stamp duty liabilities”.
She admitted to the “mistake” and referred herself to the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, who is now determining whether she broke ministerial rules.
However, the conveyancing firm that had been involved with Rayner has also said its lawyers “never” gave Ms Rayner tax advice, and suggested they were being turned into “scapegoats”. Its managing director, Joanna Verrico, said: “We’re not qualified to give advice on trust and tax matters and we advise clients to seek expert advice on these.”
Starmer said the independent investigation will determine the facts of the matter, but he will then need to decide what happens next. He said: “I completely accept that – to make the decision based on what I see in that report”.
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch also called on Starmer to sack Ms Rayner.
