UK Deputy PM Angela Rayner resigns over stamp duty row in fresh blow for PM Starmer | World News

Britain’s Deputy Prime Miner Angela Rayner arrives for a Cabinet meeting in Downing Street, London, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (Credit:AP)

British Deputy Prime Miner Angela Rayner resigned on Friday after admitting she had underpaid property tax on a new home, delivering a fresh blow to Prime Miner Keir Starmer.

Rayner, 45, is the eighth and most senior miner 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.
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“I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional special 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 minerial 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 make and said she was paying the additional tax owed.

Her resignation marks the eighth minerial departure from Starmer’s government — the highest number outside reshuffles for any British prime miner in their opening months since 1979.

(With inputs from Reuters)