Angela Rayner resigns after underpaying tax on Hove flat

Angela Rayner has resigned as housing secretary and deputy prime minister two days after admitting she underpaid the stamp duty due on her £800,000 flat in Hove.

She has also stepped down as deputy leader of the Labour Party, a position to which she was elected by party members.

Her departure comes ahead of the publication of a report from the prime minister’s ethics adviser into Rayner’s tax situation.

Rayner had been on the Labour frontbenches since 2015 and took on her government jobs in July 2024, when Labour won the general election.

Her resignation leaves a big hole at the top of government, both as deputy PM and in her role at the housing department where she was responsible for delivering one of Labour’s key pledges – to build 1.5 million homes by the end of the Parliament.

On Wednesday, Rayner acknowledged that she had not paid enough tax when buying her East Sussex flat but said this was a “mistake” resulting from legal advice that had failed to “properly take account” of her circumstances.

She said she had contacted HMRC to work out the additional tax she needed to pay and referred herself for investigation by Sir Laure Magnus, the PM’s standards adviser.