Leaving school aged 16, pregnant and with no qualifications, Angela Rayner has had a meteoric rise to the second-highest office in the UK – and a spectacular fall from grace.

Sir Keir Starmer’s right-hand woman has now resigned after she admitted to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby she had not paid enough stamp duty on a second home she bought in Hove, East Sussex, earlier this year.

Politics latest: Angela Rayner resigns

Growing up in poverty on a council estate in Stockport, Greater Manchester, Angela Bowen (her maiden name) and her two siblings were brought up by her grandmother, as her mother had bipolar disorder. She has said they had no books because her mother could not read or write.

She left school at the age of 16, without any qualifications, after becoming pregnant and has said her son, Ryan, “saved me from where I could have been, because I had a little person to look after”.

The teenage mother, now 45, studied part-time and gained a qualification in social care, working for Stockport Council as a care worker.

She entered politics when she was elected as a Unison trade union representative and then convenor of Unison North West – the region’s most senior official, becoming a Labour Party member during her time there.

She married Unison official Mark Rayner in 2010 and they had two sons, Charlie and Jimmy. Charlie, now 17, was born at 23 weeks old and is disabled. It is the trust set up for him that meant she believed the Hove flat was not a secondary home so she did not have to pay more stamp duty on it.

In 2017, her eldest son Ryan had a son, making Ms Rayner a grandmother at the age of 37. She gave herself the nickname “Grangela”.

She and her husband separated in 2020 and their divorce was completed in 2023. Since 2022, she has been in a relationship with former Labour MP Sam Tarry, with a break in 2023.

NHS compensation and a trust

Days before her resignation, she revealed compensation was paid to Charlie by the NHS due to the circumstances around his birth, which left him with “life-long disabilities”.

A trust was set up to manage the compensation and to ensure her son was properly looked after, and so that he and his brother could remain living in their family home in Ashton-under-Lyne as part of a “nesting arrangement”, where children of divorced parents live in one house while parents take it in turn to stay there.

She said she sold her stake in that home to the trust in January this year and used that money as a deposit on the Hove flat.

The Labour MP said she was given legal advice that the coastal flat did not have to be considered as a second home for stamp duty but sought further legal counsel after media reports claimed she avoided £40,000 in stamp duty.

Her initial lawyers said they never gave her tax advice and said they were being made “scapegoats”.

Ms Rayner gave a tearful interview to Sky’s Beth Rigby before her resignation, telling the Electoral Dysfunction podcast she had spoken to her family about “packing it all in”.

MP to Labour deputy in five years

Ms Rayner rose up the Labour ranks quickly after becoming an MP for Ashton-under-Lyne in 2015.

She was made deputy Labour Party leader in 2020 and was made deputy prime minister and housing, communities and local government secretary after last summer’s general election.

A self-described socialist, “but not a Corbynite” (in her own words), she became well known for calling the Conservatives “scum”, for which she eventually apologised after initially refusing to.

Council house and donor controversies

During last summer’s election campaign, Ms Rayner was investigated by Greater Manchester Police over allegations she misled tax officials in the sale of her council house in 2015 under the right to buy scheme.

She was cleared of any wrongdoing and HMRC concluded she did not owe any capital gains tax. She accused the Tories of using “desperate tactics” against her and went on to win her seat with a 19.1% majority.

Not long after becoming deputy PM and housing secretary, she was embroiled in another scandal in which she was accused of failing to properly register her use of Labour peer Lord Waheed Alli’s $2.5m New York apartment and being given clothes worth £3,550 by him.

She later announced she would no longer accept clothes from donors.

Building pledge

One of the Labour government’s biggest pledges was to build 1.5m new homes in this parliament and, as housing secretary, this came under Ms Rayner’s remit.

Sir Keir admitted in December the pledge might be “a little too ambitious”.

Ms Rayner was warned by some of the UK’s biggest developers there was not enough skilled labour to get anywhere near that target, but she has insisted it will happen.

She also led the charge to overhaul planning rules, announcing planning officers would be able to rubberstamp development proposals without permission from council committees if they complied with locally agreed plans.

The changes will be made through the planning and infrastructure bill, which was introduced to parliament in March and is making its way through the Commons.

It also promises to unblock 150 infrastructure projects, such as gigafactories, windfarms and railways, while protecting the environment and nature by setting up a fund to help builders meet their environmental obligations faster by pooling contributions to fund larger nature protections

Right to buy

In February, somewhat controversially given she bought the council house she grew up in, Ms Rayner announced it would be harder for tenants to buy their own council homes to help reverse the housing stock shortage.

She also announced “Awaab’s Law” – introduced by the Conservatives in 2023 and named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died from damp and mould – would come into force in October 2025, forcing social housing landlords to fix dangerous damp and mould in a set amount of time and emergency hazards within 24 hours.

In her role as deputy PM, Ms Rayner occasionally stood in for Sir Keir at Prime Minister’s Questions, one time facing Tory Oliver Dowden and saying it was the “battle of the gingers”.

Angela Rayner has resigned as deputy prime minister, housing secretary, and deputy leader of the Labour Party.

She wrote to her boss, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, to tender her resignation.

Here is the letter in full – and what he said in response:

Dear Keir,

Thank you for the personal and public support you have shown me in recent days.

As you know, on Wednesday I referred myself to your independent adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Laurie Magnus, to conduct a thorough investigation into my personal financial circumstances after I became aware that it is likely I inadvertently paid the incorrect rate for stamp duty land tax (SDLT).

I have always taken my responsibilities as deputy prime minister, secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, as well as a member of parliament with the utmost seriousness.

I have long believed that people who serve the British public in government must always observe the highest standards, and while the independent adviser has concluded that I acted in good faith and with honesty and integrity throughout, I accept that I did not meet the highest standards in relation to my recent property purchase.

I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice given both my position as housing secretary and my complex family arrangements.

I take full responsibility for this error.

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I would like to take this opportunity to repeat that it was never my intention to do anything other than pay the right amount.

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.

I have been clear throughout this process that my priority has, and always will be, protecting my children and the strain I am putting them under through staying in post has become unbearable.

Given the findings, and the impact on my family, I have therefore decided to resign as deputy prime minister and secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, as well as deputy leader of the Labour Party.

For a teenage mum from a council estate in Stockport to serve as the highest level of government has been the honour of my life.

The challenges of government are nothing compared to the challenge of putting food on the table and getting a roof over our head when I brought up kids working as a home help. Too many people face the same across our country.

I’ve always known that politics changes lives because it changed mine.

The last Labour government gave me the tools I needed to build a better life for me and my young son, and that’s why I’ve been working relentlessly from day one in government to do the same for the next generation.

Every day I had in office, I worked to serve working class communities like the one that I grew up in, which are too often overlooked by those in power.

I am proud that in every decision I made, I did it for them.

I would never have become deputy prime minister if not for the decisions taken by the last Labour government, giving me a council house to support me, Sure Start to help raise my kids, and the security of a minimum wage – and I can only hope that the changes I made in government will have the same impact for young girls growing up on council estates like I did.

Through my Employment Rights Bill people across the country will receive the biggest uplift in workers’ rights in a generation. This landmark legislation will be game-changing for millions of people stuck in insecure and low-paid work, giving them the dignity and security they don’t just need but also deserve.

I am and will remain deeply proud of that legacy. I am so proud to have worked alongside the trade union movement, who have given me everything, to deliver that.

Our Renters’ Rights Bill will finally ban the oppressive rule of no-fault evictions and will reset the balance between renters and landlords through groundbreaking protection for renters. Everyone deserves to live in a safe and decent home, and I know this legislation will deliver that for millions of people across the country.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will also be instrumental in getting the homes so many people across this country need built, and I am so proud that at the spending review we announced the biggest investment in social and affordable housing in a generation with the overwhelming amount of this going to genuinely social rent homes.

And last week, I introduced the English Devolution Bill to Parliament. The largest single package of devolution from any Westminster government to local people across England. This landmark legislation will permanently change the balance of power, giving true control to those with skin in [the] game.

We delivered an elections strategy which will mean 16 and 17 year olds getting the vote for the first time, as well as ambitious plans to ensure the most marginalised communities are registered to vote.

We took steps to stabilise the broken foundations of local government and deliver the first genuinely fair funding review and the first multi-year settlement for a decade.

My department, through my excellent team of ministers, has also provided the largest ever in homelessness prevention services to local authorities, to get Britain back on track to ending homelessness for good.

We’ve worked relentlessly to bring an end to the building safety crisis and developed new measures to get peoples’ homes fixed quicker and hold rogue freeholders to account.

We’ve also worked to boost community cohesion, tackle hate crime, and reset the relationship with faith communities.

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I have been lucky to work alongside the most talented group of ministers who worked with dedication to deliver for working people.

I thank Matthew Pennycook, Jim McMahon, Alex Norris, Wajid Khan, and Sharon Taylor.

I too am grateful to my brilliant parliamentary team, Harpreet Uppal, Mark Ferguson, and Gen Kitchen.

For me, being in office is the chance to change the lives of the people I grew up alongside. I will do whatever I can to continue doing so.

Thank you for your leadership and for your friendship. I will continue to serve you, our country and the party and movement I love in the weeks, months and years ahead.

Yours sincerely,

Angela

Sir Keir Starmer’s handwritten letter to Angela Rayner in full:

Dear Angela

Thank you for informing me of your decision to resign from the government.

I am very sad that your time as deputy prime minister, secretary of state and deputy leader of the Labour party has ended 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.

You were right to refer yourself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards and right to act on his conclusion.

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.

Your work at MHCLG (the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government) to help build the homes that Britain needs has been hugely important and your work to create more fairness in the workplace through the employment rights bill represents a very significant achievement that will change the lives of millions of people.

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 achievement 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. I know you will continue to fight for the causes you care so passionately about.

My very best wishes and with real sadness,

Keir

Ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus said Angela Rayner had “acted with integrity and with a dedicated and exemplary commitment to public service” – but concluded she breached the ministerial code over her tax affairs.

Ms Rayner resigned from government as a result of her tax error.

Here is Sir Laurie’s letter in full:

Dear Prime Minister,

Following a self-referral by The Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 3 September 2025, I have undertaken an examination of the circumstances and facts connected to recent allegations about Ms Rayner’s property ownership and tax affairs.

I should acknowledge that Ms Rayner has provided her full and open cooperation in assisting me with my inquiries. Her decision to provide greater public transparency by applying to remove the confidentiality undertaking in a court order protecting her family’s domestic financial circumstances was, in particular, clearly very difficult to reconcile with her understandable wish to shield members of her family from the glare of media attention.

It is a sad reflection of the almost intolerable pressures that can face prominent politicians in protecting the privacy of their families, not least, as Ms Rayner highlighted in her statement on 3 September, “the reality that family life is rarely straightforward, particularly when dealing with disability, divorce and the complexities of ensuring your children’s long term security”.

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Ms Rayner has explained publicly that, following recent allegations and speculation, and in order to assure herself of compliance with her obligations, she sought legal advice from leading tax Counsel. This covered her personal position in relation to council tax, stamp duty land tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax.

I have had access to this written opinion and, as a result of its conclusions, have focused my inquiries – and this advice – on the issues relating to Ms Rayner’s acknowledged failure to pay the correct amount of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on the purchase of a property in Hove, Sussex, in May 2025. It is the realisation of this error that prompted Ms Rayner, shortly after having received the final tax law advice, to refer the matter to me on Wednesday 3 September.

Ms Rayner has set out in detail, publicly, the details of her family’s domestic arrangements and her decision to sell her 25% interest in the freehold of the family home in Ashton-under-Lyne and to purchase a property in Hove. I do not need to repeat these details here, other than to note that they inevitably entailed a considerable degree of complexity.

Having sold her 25% share in the family home in Ashton-under-Lyne, Ms Rayner ceased to own any part of that property. However, under the relevant legislation, a person who does not own a property can nonetheless be deemed to hold an interest in it if certain circumstances apply; these include where that property is held by a trust, and the beneficiary of the trust is a child of that person under the age of 18.

I understand there are additional complexities, for example concerning the particular type of trust in question and the reason for which the trust was established. Taken together, it appears that – particularly in the context of the specialist type of trust in question – the interpretation of these rules is complex.

With Ms Rayner’s full cooperation and assistance, I have reviewed relevant documentation from the property transaction. This has included the advice she received at the time from the legal firms involved and the associated documentation that was prepared for her to effect the purchase. This advice gave rise to Ms Rayner’s understanding – which I consider to have been held in good faith – that the lower rate of SDLT was applicable when purchasing the property in Hove.

It is not necessary for me to detail the specific contents of this advice or the associated documentation but, having reviewed it, I would draw four conclusions:

a) Ms Rayner was open about the existence of the Trust and considered that, between them, the firms advising her had appropriate knowledge and awareness of the details and circumstances of the Trust;

b) on the basis of the advice she received, Ms Rayner believed that the lower rate of SDLT would be applicable; indeed she was twice informed in writing that this was the case; but

c) in those two instances, that advice was qualified by the acknowledgement that it did not constitute expert tax advice and was accompanied by a suggestion, or in one case a recommendation, that specific tax advice be obtained; and

d) if such expert tax advice had been received, as it later was, it would likely have advised her that a higher rate of SDLT was payable.

The Ministerial Code sets out the high standards that, as Prime Minister, you expect all ministers to follow. It enshrines the commitment to uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life, and details “the overarching duty on Ministers to comply with the law and to protect the integrity of public life”.

The Code begins at 1.2 by stating that “Ministers are expected to embody the principles of public service and to set a positive example as they govern in the national interest. Ministers should recognise that, as office-holders, they are held to the highest possible standards of proper conduct, and ensure that they are living up to those standards in their words and actions”.

Ms Rayner deeply regrets the mistake she has made in relation to the underpayment of SDLT for the purchase of her property in Hove. On realisation of this error, she has sought quickly to correct the mistake and to refer herself to HMRC in order to ensure that she pays the correct amount. I have no doubt that she has been motivated in the management of her property and financial arrangements by a desire to act in the best interests of her children, and with the intention to pay all appropriate taxes and fulfil all her legal obligations.

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Starmer’s response to Rayner in full

It is highly unfortunate, however, that Ms Rayner failed to pay the correct rate of SDLT on this purchase, particularly given her status and responsibilities as the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and as Deputy Prime Minister.

She believed that she relied on the legal advice she had received, but unfortunately did not heed the caution contained within it, which acknowledged that it did not constitute expert tax advice and which suggested that expert advice be sought.

I am conscious of the acute challenges Ministers face – perhaps uniquely – in managing the demands of their personal lives and their public responsibilities. However, the responsibility of any taxpayer for reporting their tax returns and settling their liabilities rests ultimately on themselves alone.

Given the conjunction of the acknowledged complexity of her family circumstances, her position in Government (most importantly as Deputy Prime Minister) and the consequences of getting such a calculation wrong, it is deeply regrettable that the specific tax advice was not sought.

I believe Ms Rayner has acted with integrity and with a dedicated and exemplary commitment to public service. I consider, however, that her unfortunate failure to settle her SDLT liability at the correct level, coupled with the fact that this was established only following intensive public scrutiny, leads me to advise you that, in relation to this matter, she cannot be considered to have met the “highest possible standards of proper conduct” as envisaged by the Code.

Accordingly, it is with deep regret that I must advise you that in these circumstances, I consider the Code to have been breached.

Yours sincerely,
Sir Laurie Magnus CBE
Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standard