Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Resigns Over Stamp Duty Scandal

Deputy Prime Minister and Communities Secretary Angela Rayner has resigned from the government following a probe that found she underpaid stamp duty on a flat she purchased in Hove, East Sussex. The Prime Minister's ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, concluded that Rayner broke the ministerial code in relation to the tax underpayment. Rayner initially blamed her lawyers for providing inadequate advice, but the firms implicated denied responsibility and criticized her for using them as scapegoats. The controversy centered on approximately £40,000 in unpaid stamp duty on an £800,000 property, prompting calls for her resignation, which she ultimately tendered. Rayner had been leading the government’s local government reorganization and devolution efforts, including oversight of the English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill. Her successor has not yet been named.