‘I take full responsibility’: UK’s Angela Rayner resigns after failure to pay property tax

In the UK, Angela Rayner has resigned from her role as the country’s deputy prime minister and housing secretary after admitting to an unintended error in paying property tax on Friday (September 5).

The country’s deputy prime minister failed to pay enough Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for an £800,000 flat in Hove, a seaside town in East Sussex, England. She underpaid by £40,000 on the property.

“I did not meet the highest standard in relation to my recent property purchase…I take full responsibility for this error,” she wrote in a letter addressed to her boss and the country’s PM Kier Starmer.

“I must also consider the significant toll that the ongoing pressure of the media is taking on my family. While I rightly expect proper scrutiny on me and my life, my family did not choose to have their private lives interrogated and exposed so publicly,” she added.

While the Starmer government will be expected to elect a new deputy, it is not sure what kind of penalty Rayner may face for the financial misstep. 

Rayner on Wednesday (September 3) referred herself to Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards Sir Laurie Magnus who said that she broke ministerial code despite acting with integrity.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch took to social media to criticize the government for not sacking Rayner sooner and raised questions about how early the Prime Minister was privy to the matter. “One rule for them, another for everyone else. The country deserves better, only the Conservatives under my leadership will deliver that,” Badenoch wrote on X.

A reshuffle is underway in the UK government, according to BBC.

Kier expressed sadness and his admiration to Rayner’s leadership despite the circumstances of her departure from the government.  

“Given though you won’t be part of the Government, you will remain a major figure in our party. I know that you will continue to fight for the causes you care so passionately about,” he wrote. 

The Prime Minister also added that the government has acted in accordance with acted in accordance with the system it strengthened regarding ministerial conduct. 

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