LONDON:
British Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner resigned on Friday after declaring that she had deeply regretted her error as underpaid the property tax on a new house, in a harmful blow for her boss, Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
After the Independent Councilor of Great Britain ruled that she had violated the ministerial code by not paying the right tax, there was little starmer could do to protect her assistant, saying that it was “very sad to lose you from government”, describing it as a “colleague of trust and a real friend”.
Rayner, 45, is the eighth and the most senior ministerial departure of the Starmer team, and the most damaging to date, after the British chief offered him full support when she was accused for the first time of having avoided 40,000 pounds in the transaction tax.
Starmer has now undergone the most ministerial resignations, apart from the government’s reshuffles, of the Prime Minister at the start of his mandate in almost 50 years – more than Boris Johnson in his chaotic period in power.
“I deeply regret my decision not to ask for additional specialized tax advice … I take full responsibility for this error,” she said in her letter to Starmer.
“Given the conclusions and the impact on my family, I therefore decided to resign,” said Rayner, who also resigned as minister and deputy chief of the Labor Party.
