Continuing the trend of a less-than-ideal first year as Prime Minister, Kier Starmer’s second in command has resigned following the recent controversy surrounding underpaid stamp duty tax on her £800,000 flat.
Rayner’s issues stem from the fact that the flat in question was in fact her second property, a detail that was seemingly overlooked when paying her tax on the property. Rayner says she was misinformed legally, but takes responsibility for the matter, and in her resignation accepted she “did not meet the highest standards” in her error.
Rayner’s resignation will leave a significant gap in Labour leadership, and Kier Starmer will soon need to asses who will be the best candidate to fill Rayner’s shoes. Rayner has long been seen a more left-wing counterweight to Starmer’s centrist approach, whether her replacement will resume this duty or not remains to be seen.
The resignation of the Deputy PM has no doubt been met with chagrin by Labour’s many critics. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: “Angela Rayner is finally gone. But it’s only because of Keir Starmer’s weakness that she wasn’t sacked three days ago.”
Lawrence Turner, Director of Boyer said:
“Angela Rayner’s planning reforms rightly acknowledged the scale of the Housing Crisis and the urgent need for bold, decisive action. Her resignation must not become an excuse for delay. The new Secretary of State now bears the responsibility to continue to unlock delivery and work to win the support of local authorities to provide the homes and infrastructure communities desperately need.
For plan-making, continuity here is critical. Local authorities must receive clear assurance from Government that the 30-month local plan timetable remains in place and better guidance on when and how to prepare their new Plans. Without this, plan-making risks stalling at the precise moment when momentum is most needed.
Secondly, the new SoS must act swiftly to remove two major barriers to housing delivery: nutrient neutrality and water scarcity. While the Nature Restoration Fund announcements were a welcome start, they must be accelerated to provide certainty for developers and local authorities and to have any real impact.
Thirdly, Planning departments need proper resourcing. Councils should be allowed to retain 100% of planning fees, enabling investment in staffing and the recruitment of new planners to speed up decision-making. In addition, greater urgency is needed behind the delivery of new towns and major growth areas. These strategic projects offer the scale of housing and infrastructure that piecemeal development cannot achieve, but they require more work to increase momentum through direct government support, infrastructure investment, and clear direction to unlock land quickly.
The new Secretary of State will be judged not by words, but by outcomes. If they can build consensus across local authorities and drive real progress on housing delivery, there remains a genuine opportunity to “turbo-charge” house building within this Parliament”
As the lead authority on housing and the head of the MHCLG, the question now will be whether Rayner’s successor will continue her advocacy for social housing, and if a change of the guard can imbue wind in the sales of the government’s 1.5M homes target, a goal that as of today does not seem to be within reach.
