The housing secretary and deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, has resigned from her positions after issues over stamp duty on a property she bought came to light.
Rayner failed to pay enough stamp duty on a flat in Hove, East Sussex, and, in her resignation letter, said that she takes “full responsibility” for the “error”.
Prime minister, Keir Starmer, accepted Rayner’s resignation, saying he is “very sad” that her “time ended this way”. It is now expected that a major reshuffle will take place, rather than simply the appointment of a new deputy leader and housing secretary.
Rayner joined the party back in 2015, becoming deputy Labour leader in April 2020. She was appointed shadow levelling up secretary and shadow deputy leader in 2023, taking on the roles following Labour’s general election win in July 2024.
During her time in office, the government has emphasised its commitment to social housing, announcing a new £39billion, 10-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme back in June.
The government has also overhauled the planning system since coming to power in a bid to boost housing supply, reintroducing mandatory local housing targets and implementing its ‘grey belt’ policy to free up more land for development.
Melanie Leech CBE, chief executive, British Property Federation, said: “Now more than ever business and investor confidence in the UK matters if we are to grow the economy, create jobs, and deliver the modern infrastructure we need. Such changes at the top of Government do little to reassure those looking to invest and looking to deliver, especially within our sector which relies on stability. We hope the next Secretary of State will continue Angela Rayner’s robust support for the builders not the blockers but will also take the opportunity to rethink policies which are damaging confidence such as the surprise ban on upward only rent reviews and the delayed homes penalty. Most urgently, however, the new Secretary of State must work with the sector to tackle viability issues and ensure barriers to delivery are addressed. This includes a laser focus on resolving delays at the Building Safety Regulator, which are having a chilling effect on new development across the country.”
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 the 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”
Paul Rickard, chief executive, Pocket Living, commented: “It is vital that the next Secretary of State for Housing continues with their predecessor’s commitment to reforming the planning system and getting Britain building again. With housing starts at near record lows, only by taking decisive action on the barriers to delivery and by utilising all those within the housebuilding industry willing and able to build homes, will government be able to start to see new homes come forward. The SME housebuilding industry has a critical role to play in this and we would urge the new Secretary of State to be even bolder in supporting this area of the industry most likely to be able to get homes built.”
