“A colleague, a friend and a force for good in our party and country.” said one MP
17:52, 05 Sep 2025Updated 19:02, 05 Sep 2025
(Image: Getty Images)
Angela Rayner’s colleagues in parliament have supported her voiced their support after she stepped down as Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary following scrutiny over her tax affairs.
Ms Rayner has stood down from the government after admitting to not paying enough stamp duty on a second home.
She told the Prime Minister ‘I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice’ and took ‘full responsibility for this error’.
Her resignation comes after watchdog Sir Laurie Magnus said the Ashton-under-Lyne MP had ‘acted with integrity and with a dedicated and exemplary commitment to public service’ but concluded she breached the ministerial code over her tax affairs.
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Calls for Ms Rayner to step down had been growing, after she admitted she underpaid stamp duty on a flat she bought in Hove earlier this year.
She paid £40,000 less of the surcharge on the property than she should have, as she claimed it was her main home rather than a second home.
Angela Rayner with the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer(Image: Getty Images)
Following her resignation, a number of Greater Manchester members of parliament have voiced their support and disappointment regarding Ms Rayner’s decision.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Yasmin Qureshi, who is Labour’s MP for Bolton South and Walkden said: “This is really sad news.
“Angela has been a powerhouse for Labour from her inspiring journey into politics to championing workers’ rights, housing & social justice in government.
“Her dedication to working people is inspiring. My thoughts are with her and her loved ones.”
Voicing similar sentiments on the social media platform, Labour MP for Wigan and secretary of state for culture, media and sport, Lisa Nandy said: “No one can ever take away what Angela Rayner has achieved.
“Her journey, from a working class background to Deputy Prime Minister is unparalleled.
“A colleague, a friend and a force for good in our party and country.”
Lisa Nandy (left) Angela Rayner leave Downing Street(Image: PA)
MP for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton, Jim McMahon said: “I have the privilege not just of being friends with Angela but working for her as a Minister.
“She has been everything people would expect; determined, hardworking, and a decent public servant with real life experience. She can be proud of what she’s delivered for the country.”
While MP for Bolton West, Phil Brickell, said her decision to resign was “the right thing”. His statement reads: “The Deputy Prime Minister has done the right thing by stepping down, so as not to distract from the transformative work being done by this Labour Government to fix our NHS, create good, well-paid jobs and secure our country in the face of an increasingly uncertain and dangerous world.
“The Labour Party is, and always has been, fundamentally about fairness. Fairness in opportunity, fairness in outcome, and fairness in contribution.
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“Ever since I was elected I have campaigned for a fair and responsible tax system in which everyone pays what they owe. Mistakes inevitably happen, but Government Ministers should be held to the highest standards.
“Whatever the circumstances of her departure, Angela Rayner is a titan of the modern Labour movement and has done so much to promote working class, female voices in Parliament.
“Much media coverage of her career has displayed immense prejudice against these two things, but she never let this get in the way of her mission to improve working people’s lives up and down the country.”