British Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner resigned on Friday after she admitted underpaying property tax on a new home, in a fresh blow for her boss, Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
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Rayner, 45, is the eighth and the most senior, ministerial departure from Starmer’s team, and the most damaging yet after Starmer offered her his full support when she was first accused of deliberately trying to avoid paying the correct tax rate.
“I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice … I take full responsibility for this error,” Rayner said in her letter to Starmer.
Starmer said in response that he was very sad that her time in government had ended in this way but she had reached the right decision.
With Labour trailing Britain’s populist Reform UK in the polls, Starmer faces yet more challenges in trying to repair his authority and his party’s image, which has previously been hit by accusations of hypocrisy from critics over accepting expensive items including clothing and concert tickets from donors.
Losing his deputy is particularly damaging, especially as Rayner, who rose from a working-class teenage mother to one of Britain’s highest political positions, had been able to mediate between Labour’s left and centrist wings to keep the party united and had a wider appeal than Starmer.
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