Nigel Farage warned that “splits in Labour are coming” after Angela Rayner quit over a property tax row. The Labour firebrand resigned as Housing Secretary, Deputy Prime Minister and deputy leader of the party after an investigation into her tax affairs by Sir Keir Starmer’s independent standards adviser.
Sir Laurie Magnus concluded that she breached the ministerial code after she underpaid stamp duty on her new seaside flat. In a video on X, Reform leader Mr Farage said: “It was inevitable wasn’t it really? You can’t be Housing Secretary and avoid £40,000 worth of stamp duty, it’s just as simple as that.
“In the last few minutes Angela Rayner has gone but not just as Housing Secretary, more significantly she’s gone as deputy leader of the Labour Party and Deputy Prime Minister.
“That means there will be an internal election within the Labour Party and you’re going to see the hard-Left of Labour shouting very loudly.
“For the last few years the story has been splits within the Conservative Party. Mark my words within weeks it will be splits within the Labour Party.”
Ms Rayner had faced mounting pressure to stand down over recent days after admitting 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.
Ms Rayner told the Prime Minister in a letter that “I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice” and took “full responsibility for this error” as she resigned as Deputy Prime Minister, Housing Secretary and deputy leader of the Labour Party.