Angela Rayner tax scandal

Angela Rayner tax scandal
Rayner in 2024
Date28 August 2025 (2025-08-28) – 5 September 2025 (2025-09-05)
Duration8 days
LocationUnited Kingdom
Also known asAngela Rayner stamp duty controversy, Three homes controversy
Cause£40,000 underpayment of stamp duty on Hove property purchase
TargetAngela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
First reporterThe Telegraph
OutcomeResignation of Angela Rayner from all government posts and Labour Party deputy leadership
InquiriesInvestigation by Sir Laurie Magnus, independent adviser on ministerial standards
Publication bansCourt order preventing disclosure of son's trust details (lifted 2 September 2025)

A political controversy emerged in the United Kingdom in August 2025 when it was revealed that Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner had underpaid stamp duty by £40,000 on an £800,000 flat in Hove purchased in May 2025. The controversy centred on complex property arrangements involving a trust for her disabled son and conflicting declarations about her primary residence to different authorities.

The scandal unfolded over eight days from 28 August to 5 September 2025. Following media scrutiny, Rayner admitted the error on 3 September 2025 and referred herself to the Prime Minister's independent adviser on ministerial standards. After the ethics adviser found she had not met the "highest possible standards of proper conduct", Rayner resigned from all her posts on 5 September 2025. Her resignation was widely described as a significant blow to the Starmer ministry and triggered the 2025 British cabinet reshuffle.