Communities Secretary Angela Rayner resigns from government
Labour deputy leader says she 'deeply regrets my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice' after purchase of property in Hove
Communities Secretary Angela Rayner has resigned from government over her tax affairs.
Rayner quit as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and as Deputy Prime Minister on Friday, days after admitting that she had failed to pay a £40,000 tax bill on the purchase of a seaside home in Hove, Sussex.
Rayner had initially been appointed as shadow communities secretary by Keir Starmer in 2023 when Labour were in opposition.
Rayner had once been Jeremy Corbyn’s deputy, and had received some criticism for failing to speak out strongly enough about the antisemitism crisis under his leadership.
But in a succession of subsequent meetings, including at a JLM conference in November 2020 Rayner was far more outspoken on the issue.
She once said of antisemitic members:” If I have to suspend thousands and thousands of members, we will do that.
“Because we cannot and we will not accept an injury to one, because an injury to one is an injury to all. That’s what we say in our movement.”
In April 2022, she appeared alongside Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and Sajid Javid, taking part in the Jewish News backed challah bake off.
She forced close relations with some communal leaders, and even attended Friday night dinners to learn more about Shabbat.
Rayner also condemned the “hateful minority” at pro-Palestine demos who were responsible for rising antisemitism in the UK.
Rayner is expected to leave Government following an investigation into her tax affairs by Sir Keir Starmer’s independent standards adviser, it is understood.
Prime Minister Keir Strmer received the report by ethics watchdog Sir Laurie Magnus on Friday morning.
The Deputy Prime Minister had faced mounting pressure to stand down over recent days after admitting she underpaid stamp duty on a flat she bought in Hove earlier this year.
Rayner, as Housing Secretary, paid £40,000 less of the surcharge on the property than she should have, as she claimed it was her main home rather than a second home.
In a letter to the PM on Friday she said: “I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice” and took “full responsibility for this error” as she resigned as Deputy Prime Minister, Communities Secretary and deputy leader of the Labour Party.
Ethics watchdog Sir Laurie Magnus said Rayner had “acted with integrity and with a dedicated and exemplary commitment to public service” but concluded she breached the ministerial code over her tax affairs.
Starmer will now be forced into a sweeping reset of his top team. He is now in need of a new Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, and will also make wider changes to his Cabinet.
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