Angela Rayner resigns from government after stamp duty row: UK politics live – UK Times

Nigel Farage has brought forward his leader’s speech at the Reform UK conference in the wake of Angela Rayner’s resignation as deputy prime minister.

The Reform leader will speak at 1pm, three hours earlier than previously expected.

Mr Farage has said there will be “splits” within Labour when it begins the process to elect a new deputy leader.

In a video posted on X, Mr Farage said: “It was inevitable, wasn’t it? Really, you can’t be Housing Secretary and avoid £40,000 worth of stamp duty. It’s just as simple as that.

“So, in the last few minutes, Angela Rayner has gone, but not just as Housing Secretary.

“Now, more significantly, she’s gone as deputy leader of the Labour party and Deputy Prime Minister.

“That means there will be an internal election within the Labour party, and you’re going to see the hard left of Labour shouting very, very loudly for the last few years, the story has been splits within the Conservative Party.

“Mark my words: Within weeks, it’ll be splits within the Labour party.”

The Independent’s Archie Mitchell reports:

If you asked anyone in Labour circles before Wednesday who was Sir Keir Starmer’s most likely successor, the chances are they would have said Angela Rayner.

The deputy prime minister was a cabinet favourite with members and a darling of Labour’s trade union backers.

But in a dramatic development on Friday, Ms Rayner was forced to resign – not only as housing secretary, but also as deputy prime minister and deputy leader of the Labour Party, a position elected by the party membership.

Sir Keir Starmer told Angela Rayner he was “very sad” that her time in government had come to an end and that he had “nothing but admiration” for her.

In a letter responding to her resignation, the Prime Minister said: “I am very sad that your time as deputy prime minister, secretary of state and deputy leader of the Labour Party has ended in this way.

“As you know we acted in accordance with the strengthened system relating to ministerial conduct that we put in place on coming into government.”

He said she was right to have referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards.

Sir Keir said: “Although I believe you have reached the right decision, it is a decision which I know is very painful for you.

“You have given your all to making the Labour Government a success and you have been a central part of our plan to make Britain fairer for working families.”

He added: “On a personal note, I am very sad to be losing you from the Government. You have been a trusted colleague and a true friend for many years.

“I have nothing but admiration for you and huge respect for your achievements in politics. I know that many people of all political persuasions admire that someone as talented as you is the living embodiment of social mobility.

“Even though you won’t be part of the Government, you will remain a major figure in our party.”

Angela Rayner has resigned after she admitted she did not pay enough stamp duty on the purchase of her £800,000 seaside flat.

The deputy prime minister, who on Wednesday referred herself to Sir Keir Starmer’s ethics adviser, insisted she made a mistake based on the advice she received at the time.

And, after receiving the report’s conclusion, Ms Rayner has the has quit her roles as housing secretary and deputy prime minister, as well as her role as deputy leader of the Labour Party.

Who could replace her as deputy prime minister?

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox writes:

When Angela Rayner’s resignation went up on the centrally placed GB News stand at the Reform conference in Birmingham there were cheers.Reform members in their new football shirts and caps started high fiving one another.

“They’re almost finished,” one Reform member said of the Labour government.“We’ll be in power in a year,” said another optimistically.

The chaos outside the conference has only fuelled a growing sense of optimism of the people here at the NEC.

Angela Rayner has told Sir Keir Starmer in a letter that “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, housing secretary and deputy leader of the Labour Party.

In the letter Ms Rayner added that she had “no intention” of doing anything other than pay the correct amount of stamp duty.

The Independent’s political editor David Maddox writes:

Angela Rayner’s departure from government in disgrace over her tax affairs is a disaster for a Labour administration that is already struggling to keep its head above water.

The now former deputy prime minister has fallen foul of the ethics adviser on avoiding paying £40,000 in tax on her Brighton flat.

Privately, ministerial colleagues were even more concerned about the fact she had tried to use her disabled son’s problems as a cover story and had apparently used money from the trust set up for him to buy the property to be nearer her partner.

For a woman who was being discussed as a replacement leader and prime minister for the beleaguered Keir Starmer up until last week this is a really bitter turn of fortunes.

But in the end she could not hold on. At a time when Labour is planning to put up taxes by even more the leaflets from opponents would write themselves: “Rachel Reeves puts up your taxes, Angela Rayner avoids them.”

In reality once she made the admission over failing to pay tax she should have gone immediately. These situations are always untenable.

It was a sign of Sir Keir Starmer’s own weak position that he stood by her for 48 hours.

This is a pair who called people “criminals” for eating cake during lockdown.

Perhaps Sir Keir, who has been accused of having a woman problem, did not want to be seen to abandon one of the two most senior women in his government.

Maybe it was her strong working class background in a very middle class government of former student activists.

One senior figure told The Independent that there is now a big problem of balance in the government.

The left of the party no longer has a senior representative around the cabinet table. Perhaps only energy secretary Ed Miliband is from that wing of the party.

Once she recovers Ms Rayner could become a formidable problem for Sir Keir on the backbenches with a party on the edge of revolt over Middle East policies, bad polls and welfare cuts.

The person laughing most will be Nigel Farage as he prepares to address the reform conference in Birmingham today.

Rayner has also resigned as deputy leader of the Labour Party, according to reports.

Angela Rayner has quit as housing secretary and deputy prime minister following an investigation into her tax affairs by Sir Keir Starmer’s independent standards adviser, it is understood.

Sir Keir received the report by ethics watchdog Sir Laurie Magnus on Wednesday morning.

The deputy prime minister has 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.

Ms Rayner, who is also the 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.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has received the report by his independent ethics adviser into Angela Rayner’s tax affairs and is considering its findings, the PA news agency understands.