Angela Rayner's resignation as deputy prime minister has dealt the most serious blow yet to Keir Starmer's embattled government. Her departure comes at the start of what the prime minister had hoped would be a week of reset, after a difficult summer in which Labour ceded ground to Reform UK in the polls. Starmer told No 10 staff on Monday that the government was entering its next, delivery stage, but the loss of his most senior ally has overshadowed that message.
Rayner was widely seen as the complement to Starmer, describing their relationship as "the yin to my yang". Politically intuitive, a powerful communicator and an authentic working-class voice, she was popular with MPs, members and unions, and served as the party's attack dog against the Conservatives. Her absence will be keenly felt, even though their relationship was sometimes bumpy.
Her exit was prompted by a finding that she breached the ministerial code over her failure to pay the correct amount of stamp duty. Starmer had previously insisted there would be no special treatment for ministers who broke the rules, vowing to sack them on the spot. Rayner is the fifth minister, and by far the most senior, to be forced out since Labour came to power, and her own refrain about "one rule for them, one for everybody else" has now been turned against her.
The controversy is damaging for Labour's efforts to present itself as more ethical than its predecessor, and it complicates Rachel Reeves' autumn budget. With the Treasury struggling to find up to £40bn to balance the books, the option of imposing a new property tax on more expensive homes becomes a harder sell. The party's general secretary has confirmed an election will be held to replace Rayner as deputy leader, a race likely to overshadow the government's agenda and potentially produce a left-wing candidate who could push Starmer from within.
Rayner remains a powerful figure within Labour, and there is no guarantee she will go quietly. She may continue to press for more radical policies from the backbenches, and a comeback is not off the table, particularly if Starmer's position becomes weaker. With Labour lagging behind Reform UK in the polls, Nigel Farage has made no secret of his delight at her departure, deepening the sense of crisis for the prime minister.
