The United Kingdom has been thrown into political turmoil following the resignation of Angela Rayner as Deputy Prime Minister.

Rayner stepped down after an investigation found she breached the ministerial code over unpaid tax on her £800,000 Hove flat. Her resignation also means she leaves her positions as Housing Secretary and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, triggering a major Cabinet reshuffle as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer works to restore confidence in his government.

In her resignation letter, Rayner admitted she failed to seek proper tax advice despite her high office and complicated family arrangements.

“I take full responsibility for this error. It was never my intention to do anything other than pay the right amount,” she said.

The scandal erupted after reports revealed that Rayner had avoided a £40,000 stamp duty surcharge by declaring her new Hove flat as her primary residence. It was also discovered that she used £160,000 from a trust fund set up for her disabled son—money awarded by the NHS following his premature birth—to finance the property purchase.

Initially silent, Rayner later broke down in a TV interview, admitting her mistake but insisting she had acted on flawed legal advice.

 However, public backlash intensified, with graffiti labelling her a “tax evader” appearing near her home. Critics accused her of hypocrisy, given her past attacks on Conservative politicians for similar issues.

Conservative leaders quickly pounced on the scandal. Former PM Liz Truss branded her a “first-class hypocrite,” while Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused Prime Minister Starmer of lacking the courage to sack her.

Rayner’s lawyers argued she was being scapegoated, but the revelation that she paid only £30,000 instead of £70,000 in stamp duty proved politically fatal.

The scandal also brought scrutiny on her property holdings, with opponents dubbing her “Three Pads Rayner” due to her access to three homes: Admiralty House in London, her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency home, and the Hove flat.

Despite initially backing his deputy, Starmer accepted her resignation on Thursday, leaving Labour with a leadership vacuum. Chancellor Rachel Reeves remains in her role, but a wider reshuffle is expected to stabilise the government.

Rayner’s resignation marks a dramatic fall from grace for one of Labour’s most prominent figures and raises fresh questions about trust, transparency, and accountability in the new government.