Who is the standards watchdog?

The independent adviser on ministerial standards advises the prime minister on the ministerial code - including investigating alleged breaches of conduct. They also advise ministers on managing their private interests, to avoid potential conflicts of interest. This position is currently held by Sir Laurie Magnus.

How will it investigate this case?

Downing Street has yet to set out the terms of reference for the inquiry. What we do know is that, once Magnus investigates Rayner's case, he can advise Starmer on whether he thinks there has been a breach of conduct. He can also make recommendations on the next course of action.

Who decides Rayner's future in government?

In her capacity as deputy prime minister and housing secretary, it'll ultimately be the prime minister who decides if Rayner can stay in office. But the prime minister cannot sack Rayner as deputy Labour leader. That's because she was elected into this role by the Labour party through a member vote, so only she can give that up.

Correction 4 September 2025: An earlier version of this post said the prime minister cannot sack Rayner as deputy prime minister. This has been corrected to say he cannot sack her as deputy party leader

Before the news that Angela Rayner has referred herself to the ministerial ethics adviser broke around midday, this morning's major news was that Rachel Reeves has set a date for the autumn Budget.

Speaking to the BBC, the chancellor says that many of the people speculating about what will be in November's Budget are "talking rubbish".

This morning, Reeves announced the Budget would be delivered on 26 November, amid widespread speculation she could raise taxes to meet her self-imposed fiscal rules.

Asked if she has told her advisers to look into property taxation, Reeves says it's up to her to decide what's in the Budget, and she will do so in a "careful way, getting the balance right".

"People who seem to know what is in the Budget before we have made those decisions are just wrong," she says. "A lot of them are talking rubbish and frankly a lot of what they're saying is irresponsible."

In an interview with the BBC's economics editor Faisal Islam, Reeves says Britain's economy has been "stuck for too long" and she is determined as chancellor to "get us out of this rut".

"Working people and businesses can rest assured I know how important it is to return growth and investment to our economy and I will do that in the Budget this year," she says.

Image source, EPA

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has referred herself to the standards watchdog over a tax row.

We've answered four key questions to help make sense of what it all means:

What is the row about?: In brief, Angela Rayner admits she did not pay enough stamp duty on her second home. The tax is due if you buy a property or land over a certain price in England and Northern Ireland, external.

What has Rayner said?: In a statement released today, Rayner set out a timeline of the events leading up to the tax row and claims that she had sought legal advice which turned out to be wrong. She said she "deeply regrets" the error and has vowed to "pay what is due".

What has the reaction been?: A fiery exchange at PMQs saw Tory leader Badenoch called for Rayner's resignation. Keir Starmer defended his deputy, who sat behind him on the frontbench as he tried to deflect the leader of the opposition's criticism.

What's next?: Rayner's political future remains uncertain, BBC's Henry Zeffman says. It is now up to the standards watchdog to come to a conclusion, but whether that affects her position in government is a question that is yet to be answered.

As we continue to unpick the circumstances around Angela Rayner’s declaration of underpaid taxes, one tax lawyer says the lawyers who gave her advice on the Hove property will be looking to defend themselves if the deputy PM maintains she was wrongly advised.

When buying a property in Hove, Rayner says that initial advice she received suggested that she was only liable to pay standard stamp duty, but that later advice from a tax lawyer revealed she owed more.

Speaking to the BBC News Channel, tax lawyer James Quarmby at Stephenson Harwood says there is a lot we don't yet know, such as about whether the Hove property lawyers were aware of all the facts, including the trust.

He says that if Rayner focuses the blame on those lawyers, “they are going to want to make sure that their position is defended as well, so this could get really messy”.

While we've heard some MPs, including within the Labour Party, speak out in Rayner's defence, others in the Conservative shadow cabinet disagree.

Tory party leader has followed up on her calls for Rayner to resign which she voiced during PMQs, Kemi Badenoch says "she has to go". Posting on X, the opposition leader says: "If Keir Starmer had a backbone, he’d sack Angela Rayner immediately."

Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride writes on X: "The Deputy Prime Minister should not be setting the rules when she fails to keep them herself."

Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government James Cleverly says Rayner demanded ministerial resignation over tax affairs, and that "voters hate hypocrisy".

Shadow Minister for Education Saqib Bhatti says "she should absolutely resign". Speaking on Sky News, he says "the reasons behind the underpaying of stamp duty - which Rayner explains in her statement - are largely irrelevant".

Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Priti Patel also calls for Rayner's resignations, saying "if the most senior minister responsible for housing policy cannot understand housing tax policy she has no right to make laws affecting us".

Image source, EPA

There are three properties that the deputy prime minster spends time at:

• A family home in Ashton-under-Lyne: Rayner bought this home, located in her Greater Manchester constituency, with her ex-husband. They alternate living there with their children, she says, and it has been transferred to a trust for her young disabled son
• Admiralty House, Westminster: This is Rayner's base in London, a government-owned building facing Whitehall. As a grace-and-favour flat, Rayner neither owns nor pays rent or council tax on it
• An apartment in Hove: The property at the centre of the story. Rayner bought this flat in May 2025 and paid the standard stamp duty rate on it, which she says she did on advice from lawyers at the time. After public scrutiny, Rayner says she sought further advice that says she should have paid more

Tax expert Dan Neidle says whether or not Angela Rayner is in the wrong depends on who she asked for advice, and what they told her.

If the deputy PM went to a lawyer specialising in tax who got it wrong, then it's "fair enough" and not her fault, he says.

But if she just asked her conveyancer without disclosing the existence of the trust, then she would have been "careless", the tax expert tells BBC News.

"It’s pretty usual for people who don’t get proper advice to pay the wrong stamp duty, it’s pretty unusual for a tax adviser who specialises in this area to get it wrong. It can happen, but it's unusual," Neidle says.

Niedle says Rayner should publish the advice she was given, while redacting the confidential parts.

In the statement released today, Angela Rayner says: "When purchasing the property my understanding, on advice from lawyers, was that my circumstances meant I was liable for the standard rate of stamp duty.

"However, given the recent allegations in the press I have subsequently sought further advice from a leading tax counsel to review that position and to ensure I am fully compliant with all tax provisions.

I have now been advised that although I did not own any other property at the time of the purchase, the application of complex deeming provisions which relate to my son’s trust gives rise to additional stamp duty liabilities."

Image source, Getty Images

Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey says he believes Deputy PM Angela Rayner's property decisions had been guided by her disabled child's interests.

Davey notes that often members of the opposition "jump up and down and call for resignations" in situations like this, but as a parent of a disabled child, he says, "I know the thing my wife and I worry most about is our son's care after we have gone".

"I completely understand and trust that the deputy prime minister was thinking about the same thing here," he says.

Davey, a vocal advocate for disabled people's rights and support for their carers, adds: "Perhaps now is a good time to talk about how we look after disabled people and how we can build a more caring country."

“Obviously if the ethics adviser says Angela Rayner has broken the rules, her position may well become untenable," he adds.

Image source, Getty Images

Health Secretary Wes Streeting says it would be "an absolute travesty" if Angela Rayner is forced to resign over underpaid stamp duty.

Speaking to the BBC's Matt Chorley on 5Live, the health secretary accepts Rayner made a mistake but says that "it's an honest mistake and not one she should resign for".

Challenged by Chorley on what the situation says about her ability as housing secretary, Streeting says: "Sometimes these things are complicated... The advice turned out to be wrong, and that does happen."

He welcomes Rayner's decision to refer herself to the independent adviser on ethics and says she's been "completely honest" when questioned about her finances.

"She's a decent person, she's an honest person," he says. "Having realised she's made a mistake she's held her hands up, said 'I've got this wrong', and she's working right now to put it right."

Rayner's political future under threat after stamp duty admissionpublished at 15:23 BST 3 September

15:23 BST 3 September

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

The housing secretary has admitted paying the wrong amount of tax on a house.

That is pretty much the worst headline conceivable about any housing secretary, let alone Angela Rayner, who is also the deputy prime minister and spent years as Labour's sleazehunter-in-chief.

That's the straightforward fact which makes this such a damaging, indeed career-threatening, episode for Rayner.

Other elements are not quite so straightforward. The case was untypical because it involved her divorce, and a trust Rayner and her ex-husband had set up to provide for her son, who has lifelong disabilities.

Crucially, Rayner is adamant that she sought advice from a lawyer about the stamp duty liable, and has only now learnt from a different lawyer that that advice was wrong. It is on that basis that she is not resigning.

It is also on the basis of the flawed initial advice that Labour officials, ministers and MPs mostly seem as of this afternoon to believe that Rayner will probably survive the independent investigation into whether she has breached the ministerial code.

Whether she will survive in the court of public opinion is being treated as a separate matter altogether.

• You can read Henry Zeffman's analysis in full here

Image source, PA Media

Downing Street says the prime minister did not mislead the public by saying people were "briefing against" Angela Rayner in an interview with BBC 5 Live on Monday.

Asked if Rayner would resign if found to have breached ministerial standards, the prime minister's spokesperson says they will not "get ahead of the process" - but that the PM believes Rayner "should pay what is due".

Downing Street declined to say when the prime minister was told about the underpaid stamp duty and added that it does not have full details of a court order which Rayner says prevented her from disclosing information about her tax affairs to the public.

Image source, Historic England

As we've been reporting, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has referred herself to the standards watchdog.

Under this, Sir Laurie Magnus CBE, who is the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standard, will investigate Rayner's actions and advise Keir Starmer on whether she has breached ministerial code.

He is appointed by the prime minister, but he operates independently of government and is required to act impartially.

While Magnus will inform Starmer of his findings, any decision about further action ultimately remains with the prime minister.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy tells BBC Radio 4's World at One programme that Angela Rayner "has done the right thing" in referring herself to the ethics adviser, and that the ministerial code "allows for people to make mistakes as long as they correct them quickly".

Angela Rayner has admitted she did not pay enough stamp duty on her second home - but what is stamp duty?

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax due if you buy a property or land over a certain price in England and Northern Ireland, external.

You have to pay the tax when you:

• buy a freehold property
• buy a new or existing leasehold
• buy a property through a shared ownership scheme
• take on a mortgage or buy a share in a house

The amount of stamp duty you owe depends on the cost of the property, whether it will be used for residential purposes, and whether you own any other property.

We're continuing to look at the statement shared earlier by Angela Rayner - days after The Daily Telegraph initially reported, external that she saved £40,000 in stamp duty when buying a flat in Hove, East Sussex, after telling tax authorities it was her main home.

Here's a brief timeline of events, as set out by the deputy prime minister:

• In 2020, an incident left Rayner's young son with life-long disabilities and a trust was set up for him. With the house adapted to meet his needs, Rayner says she and her ex-husband agreed their interest in the home would be transferred to this trust - of which her son is the sole beneficiary
• In 2023, some of the interest in the family home was transferred to the trust. Following their divorce, Rayner says she and her ex-husband set up a "nesting arrangement" whereby the children would stay in the family home, in Ashton-under-Lyne, while she and her ex-husband alternated living there. She says this property remains her family home as "it is where my children live and have gone to school and now college"
• In January 2025, Rayner sold the remaining interest in the Ashton property to her son's trust. She says this "gives him the security of knowing the home is his"
• In May 2025, Rayner says she bought a property in Hove, using the lump sum from selling her stake in the Ashton home. She says she received legal advice that she was liable to pay the standard rate of stamp duty on the Hove property.
• Since then: The Deputy PM says that given recent public scrutiny, she sought further advice and found she should have paid more stamp duty. Rayner says a court order was in place, preventing her from telling the full details of her financial arrangements, but that's now been overturned. She also says she's working with lawyers and HMRC to "pay what is due"

Fresh from quizzing Keir Starmer at PMQs, Kemi Badenoch is calling for Angela Rayner to step down as deputy prime minister and housing secretary.

Asked if Rayner should resign, Badenoch says: "Absolutely. And if the prime minister had a backbone then he should have sacked her already. Her position is untenable."

She adds: "If you are the deputy PM helping to set tax policy, if you are the housing minister deciding where people are going to live, how much that is going to cost, you need to get your own affairs in order."

She also calls on Starmer to reveal "when he found out and exactly what he knew".

"It is important that the public can see that the government - who are setting tax policy, making decisions about all our lives - are following the rules that they set," she tells broadcasters in Westminster.

We've been combing through Rayner's statement, which we published in full earlier, to pull out some of the key lines.

One key aspect is the deputy PM's argument as to why she had not released more information about her tax affairs or referred herself to the standards watchdog before now.

Rayner says that a court order has been preventing her from disclosing certain information about "aspects of my personal life".

But she says that given recent scrutiny, she applied and was yesterday released by the court from that obligation.

She says that family life can be "complicated" and it can be hard to publicly talk about "sometimes distressing family matters". But, she adds that she has "tried to be as open as possible while protecting my family".

Rayner says that when she bought a property in May of this year she received legal advice that she did not need to pay an additional rate of stamp duty.

She says recent public scrutiny prompted her to seek further tax advice, which she says highlighted that she did not pay a sufficient amount of tax on the property purchase, and that she will now rectify this and "pay what is due".

Image source, House of Commons

The Green Party's Ellie Chowns next asks if the PM will put an end to the Rosebank oil field project - a new oil field planned 80 miles off the Shetland Coast.

Referencing Chowns' loss to Zack Polanski this week in the Green Party leadership contest, Starmer says "we can now see" what the Green's really stand for - withdrawing from Nato and "totally unfunded spending".

Starmer also takes a swipe at their leader "whose made some very strange comments" about women.

For context, Polanski issued another apology on BBC Breakfast this morning for claims made when working as a hypnotherapist years ago that he could reduce a reporter's breast size.

Read more about Polanski here.

The SNP's Pete Wishart presses the PM on the budget date. He says it has left Scotland as a "distant afterthought".

"You couldn't even be bothered to notify the Scottish government," a furious Wishart says, claiming they found out on social media.

This made it "almost impossible" for the Scottish government to pass a budget before Christmas, he says, leaving its people in "great uncertainty".

Starmer defends himself with the last budget, saying that his government produced a record settlement for Scotland.

Image source, House of Commons

Prime Minister's Questions has just come to an end, and in the first face-off since the summer recess there was plenty of heated back-and-forth.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch wasted no time digging into the controversy surrounding deputy PM Angela Rayner's second home, before throwing jibes at the government on the economy.

In brief, the exchange covered:

Rayner's self-referral to the standards watchdog:

• Badenoch asks the PM why Rayner is still in office. Starmer says the Deputy PM has gone "over and above" in explaining her circumstances, and that he's proud to sit alongside her. The Tory leader persists, saying that "if Starmer had a backbone he would sack Rayner"

Government borrowing:

• Badenoch asks why government borrowing is at its highest under Starmer's government. The PM says he will not take lectures from a party who crashed the economy

Unemployment:

• Badenoch says unemployment rates have gone up every month under Labour's government. Starmer says he can relate to an interview Badenoch gave to the Sunday Times where she says: "I've inherited a gigantic mess, and I'm cleaning it up

Stay with us as we continue to bring you the latest lines from PMQs, analysis from our correspondents and the developing updates on Deputy PM Angela Rayner.