Deputy Leader Resigns Over £40,000 Stamp Duty Scandal
Deputy Leader Resigns Over £40,000 Stamp Duty Scandal
The revelation comes after more than a year of press speculation over her finances.
In a major setback for the UK Labour Party, Deputy Leader Angela Rayner resigned on Friday after admitting she underpaid nearly £40,000 ($54,000) in property taxes.
According to the BBC, Rayner, 45, confirmed this week that she had failed to pay the correct amount of “stamp duty” — Britain’s property transaction tax — following what she described as “complex living arrangements” linked to her recent divorce and family circumstances.
The revelation comes after more than a year of press speculation over her finances.
“I believed I had followed the rules, but I now accept I made a mistake,” Rayner said, noting her responsibilities as a mother to a son with special educational needs had complicated her situation.
The resignation is particularly damaging for Labour leader Keir Starmer. Though often positioned as a counterweight to Starmer’s centrist leadership, Rayner has been a prominent and influential voice within the party, commanding support among Labour’s left-wing members and grassroots activists.
Her departure comes while she was serving simultaneously as deputy leader and housing secretary — roles that put her at the centre of Labour’s agenda ahead of the next general election.
The BBC also reports that Rayner, who is the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, referred herself to the PM’s ethics adviser earlier this week, after admitting to underpaying stamp duty on her £800,000 flat.
Sky News also noted that she previously said lawyers had told her she did not have to pay second home stamp duty on her Hove flat, but after media reports said she had underpaid by £40,000, she sought out further legal counsel, which found it could not be counted as a second home.
“I would like to take this opportunity to repeat that it was never my intention to do anything other than pay the right amount,” she wrote.
The scandal leaves Starmer without his most high-profile deputy at a crucial time and risks deepening tensions within Labour, where Rayner had long been seen as both a bridge and a challenger to the leader’s authority.
