UK Deputy Prime Minister Resigns Over Property Taxes

LONDON (AP) — The U.K.’s deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, resigned Friday after an independent inquiry found that she did not meet the ethical standards required for government ministers over a recent home purchase.

Rayner, who admitted on Wednesday that she did not pay enough tax on her purchase of an apartment in Hove, on England’s south coast, earlier this summer, said the report found that she acted in good faith but that she should have sought more specific tax advice.

“I take full responsibility for this error,” she said in her resignation letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Rayner referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, Laurie Magnus, on Wednesday, who delivered his report to Starmer on Friday.

In the U.K., levies are charged on property purchases, with higher charges due on more expensive homes and secondary residences. Reports have suggested that Rayner saved 40,000 pounds by not paying the appropriate levy, known as a stamp duty.

Rayner, who holds the housing brief in the Labour government and has forged a reputation as one of its most forthright speakers, has often railed against those who deliberately underpay tax, particularly those in the preceding Conservative administration, which Labour replaced in July 2024.

Starmer said Rayner had made the right decision but said he was “very sad” to see her leave his government.

“I have nothing but admiration for you and huge respect for your achievements in politics,” Starmer wrote. The handwritten letter signed off “with very best wishes and with real sadness.”