UK Deputy PM Angela Rayner resigns over stamp duty row in fresh blow for PM Starmer
Rayner is the eighth and most senior minister to quit Starmer’s team, intensifying pressure on the PM to restore authority and credibility.
Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner arrives for a Cabinet meeting in Downing Street, London, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (Credit:AP) British Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner resigned on Friday after admitting she had underpaid property tax on a new home, delivering a fresh blow to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Rayner, 45, is the eighth and most senior minister to quit Starmer’s team, a damaging departure after the British leader had earlier defended her when she was accused of deliberately avoiding the correct tax rate.
“I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice… I take full responsibility for this error,” Rayner said in her resignation letter to Starmer.
Starmer said he was “very sad that her time in government had ended in this way” but said she had reached the right decision.
Her exit comes as Labour trails Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the polls, intensifying pressure on Starmer to restore authority and credibility after multiple resignations in his cabinet.
Rayner, who as per reports was once tipped as a possible successor to Starmer, forced to refer herself to the ministerial standards watchdog earlier this week after admitting the error. In a tearful interview, she described selling her share of a family home in northern England to set up a trust for her son with life-long disabilities, believing the move exempted her from a higher property tax.
After taking further legal advice, Rayner acknowledged her mistake and said she was paying the additional tax owed.
Record ministerial resignations
Her resignation marks the eighth ministerial departure from Starmer’s government — the highest number outside reshuffles for any British prime minister in their opening months since 1979.
Eight ministers have now resigned, five over wrongdoing. Below we look at the four ministers who have already fallen:
Rushanara Ali (Homelessness Minister): Quit after being accused of evicting tenants and relisting her property at £700 higher rent, despite Labour’s housing reform push.
Tulip Siddiq (Treasury Minister): Resigned amid a corruption probe in Bangladesh linked to her family, though she denied wrongdoing.
Andrew Gwynne (Health Minister): Sacked and suspended from Labour after leaked WhatsApp messages showed him insulting constituents and wishing an elderly woman dead.
Louise Haigh (Transport Secretary): Stepped down after it emerged she pleaded guilty to a fraud offence a decade earlier involving a false stolen phone report.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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