Angela Rayner resigns as deputy prime minister to Keir Starmer over stamp duty scandal

LONDON — Somehow, it keeps getting worse for Keir Starmer.

The British Prime Minister was already in dire straits: His economy is barely growing, ascendant critics assail him from the left and right, and his popularity has tanked to historic levels just a year after a landslide victory.

And on Friday Starmer suffered perhaps his most significant setback yet when his influential deputy resigned after admitting she underpaid 40,000 pounds (around $54,000) in property taxes.

Angela Rayner, 45, has not always agreed with Starmer but has been a key figure in his Labour Party, seen as a counterweight voice for its disgruntled left-wing against his centrist conservatism.

After more than a year of press speculation, Rayner admitted this week that she failed to pay enough property taxes — known in Britain as “stamp duty.” She said she believed she had followed the rules, and was tripped up by her “complex living arrangements,” including her recent divorce and son with special educational needs.

All this played out while she served as the government’s housing secretary as well as its deputy leader.

This week she referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, Laurie Magnus, who acts as a watchdog appointed by the prime minister. Rayner promptly resigned her role as deputy prime minister and housing minister after his report was delivered Friday.

It marks the latest dismal turn for a government mired in unpopularity and perceived inaction.

Just 14 months ago, Starmer won a historic landslide victory against a Conservative Party whose 14-year rule had ended in scandal and widespread public disdain. But polls suggested that his victory owed as much to his opponent’s toxic image as any ringing enthusiasm for his own platform.

Whereas his predecessor as party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, had sought to take Labour back to its leftist roots, Starmer was more in the mold of Tony Blair: relatively progressive social values mixed with economic conservatism that critics say departed little from the Conservatives.

That alleged caution has been met with opposition from multiple sides.

Many on the left see him as maddeningly unimaginative in the face of an economic crisis that requires radical, progressive moves. And the right see him as too soft on immigration, most notably the “small boats” crisis that continues to see tens of thousands of asylum seekers cross the English Channel each year.

Immigration is now the top priority for voters, polls show, and opinion surveys are now led by Nigel Farage, the friend and ally of American President Donald Trump, who leads the Reform political party.

If he becomes prime minister after the next election scheduled for 2029, Farage has promised to enact a mass deportation scheme removing 600,000 undocumented migrants from Britain.

Rayner’s departure is doubly significant because she also quit from the role of deputy party leader, which is chosen by the party members, rather than Starmer himself. This means a more outspoken left-wing lawmaker could be voted into the role — increasing the pressure on Starmer to veer left in search of a solution.

Rayner admitted this week to underpaying stamp duty this year when buying a home in Hove, on England’s southern coast. She paid the standard levy but people in Britain must pay a higher rate if they own a second home — which Rayner did in this case.

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, was among those calling for her to go.

“From the start, we’ve had nothing but excuses, deflections and lies. Enough is enough,” she said this week. “How many final straws can there be for Angela Rayner? She must resign or Keir Starmer must finally find the backbone to” fire her.