Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has been forced to resign over her second home scandal.
Ms Rayner, who is also the Housing Secretary, is reported to have saved £40,000 in stamp duty on the flat because she removed her name from the deeds of a family property in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency, meaning the Hove property is the only property she owns.
Today, the BBC announced that Ms Rayner has quit.
The Deputy Prime Minister said incorrect “advice from lawyers” led her to pay too little tax when she purchased the property in Hove this year.
"It's distressing...they're really upset."
— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 3, 2025
Speaking exclusively to #ElectoralDysfunction, Deputy PM Angela Rayner tells @BethRigby how coverage of her tax row has impacted her family.
🎧 Listen: https://t.co/rZKxGb8jiW
📺 Watch: https://t.co/VI9bp047tw pic.twitter.com/53yStFz7nU
She told Sky’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast : “I’ve been in shock, really, because I thought I’d done everything properly, and I relied on the advice that I received and I’m devastated because I’ve always upheld the rules and always have felt proud to do that."
Angela Rayner said she had “alerted and referred” herself to the independent adviser on the ministerial code “as soon as” she learned she had been liable to pay additional stamp duty on a property.
The Deputy Prime Minister said she had taken legal advice on buying the flat in Hove which suggested she was “liable to pay standard stamp duty” but had then sought “expert counsel advice” following media reporting about the arrangement, and learned that she was liable to pay additional stamp duty.
She told Sky News: “As soon as I knew that that was the case, I have alerted and referred myself to the independent adviser on the ministerial code to ensure that they can look transparently at what has happened, and also contacted HMRC to say that, there is additional tax owing on this, and that I’m prepared to pay that and fully comply with the HMRC as well.”
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But the conveyancing firm, Verrico and Associates, on Thursday said its lawyers “never” gave Ms Rayner tax advice and were being made “scapegoats”.
In a statement reported by the media, managing director Joanna Verrico said: “We’re not qualified to give advice on trust and tax matters and we advise clients to seek expert advice on these.”
Ms Rayner divorced her husband and no longer owns a stake in the Greater Manchester home, but still considers it her primary residence because her children live there.
Before the 2024 election, the Conservatives had urged HMRC to investigate Ms Rayner over whether she had paid enough tax after selling her former council home almost a decade earlier.
But it is understood that HMRC looked into the matter at Ms Rayner’s request and concluded there was no capital gains tax liability.
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