The downfall of Angela Rayner

The Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, has resigned after it emerged she may have underpaid nearly £40,000 in stamp duty on a property purchase. At the heart of the matter is whether she should have paid the higher rate of tax when she bought a flat in Hove, given that she still retained an interest in her former family home in Ashton-under-Lyne.

Rayner claimed that she believed she had acted properly by transferring her share of the family property into a trust for her disabled son. On that basis, she says, she understood herself to be liable only for the standard rate of tax. She also pointed to legal advice which, in her account, reinforced this position. However, the conveyancing firm involved strongly disputed this, insisting they gave no tax or trust advice and merely applied HMRC’s own calculator based on the information they were provided.

In light of the growing scrutiny, Rayner referred herself to the Prime Minister’s independent ethics adviser and pledged to work with HMRC to resolve any underpayment. This morning, the ethics adviser’s letter to the Prime Minister was published, revealing that Rayner had broken the ministerial code. She resigned from the Government shortly afterwards.

Ultimately, there was nowhere to go. Rayner’s future in Government was untenable for at least three reasons:

First, her integrity was damaged. Honesty is not just a political virtue; it is the foundation of trust.

Second, even if she did not act deliberately, she could be judged incompetent for failing to seek or heed sound advice on such a significant financial matter. A Deputy Prime Minister is expected to exercise prudence and good judgment in both private and public decisions.

Third, irrespective of whether she is legally culpable, the sheer scale of the controversy had overwhelmed her. When the public began to see her as embodying the very double standards she has previously condemned, her presence was in danger of damaging the government more than her absence.

This episode matters not simply because of one person’s individual tax arrangements – even if that is someone as powerful and important as the Deputy Prime Minster – but because it touches on deeper questions about the character of our leaders and the standards we should expect from those in public life.

The Bible speaks clearly to these issues. Proverbs 11:1 tells us: “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.” In the context of financial dealings, this reminds us that honesty and fairness in money matters are not just technicalities, but moral imperatives. To short-change the system, whether by accident or design, undermines not only our obligations to the state but also our accountability before God.

Equally important is the principle of transparency. 1 John 1:7 speaks of walking “in the light” — a call to live openly and truthfully, without deception or hidden motives. Leaders especially are called to be people whose lives can bear the scrutiny of those they serve. When questions of secrecy or evasion arise, trust begins to corrode, and with it the credibility of institutions.

Furthermore, Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 4:2 set a high standard for those entrusted with responsibility: “It is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” Public office is a stewardship. It is not owned by the individual but held in trust for the people. Faithfulness in this sense is not only about technical compliance with rules but about embodying the spirit of service, humility, and integrity that sustains a healthy democracy.

Angela Rayner’s case is a sobering reminder of the fragile bond between leaders and the public. That bond should rightly rest not just on policy successes but on personal character. Competence, integrity, and honesty are not optional extras: they are essentials. When they falter, the whole system suffers. And when they are upheld, they point to a deeper truth — that good leadership, in any sphere, is about serving others faithfully and walking in the light.

That is why, in the end, many politicians’ fates are not ultimately determined by the judgement of an ethics adviser, but on how they are judged by the public. Even when investigations find no deliberate wrongdoing, the perception of hypocrisy or poor judgment can be enough to make a position untenable, especially if public trust is lost.

Such is the state of our public square right now, that someone like Angela Rayner may be proved, in time, not to have deliberately broken any guidelines, but the mob will have already made up its mind and demanded blood. Christians should recognise this dynamic, but I hope we do not succumb to it and instead bring a different perspective.

We should be lovers of truth: will we take time to learn the context and complexities of this story?

I suspect that it will turn out to be more complex than is often being reported. Stamp Duty might seem straight forward, but the laws around Family Trusts certainly are not. Ms Rayner’s personal family circumstances, while not a blanket exemption from wrongdoing, also need to be considered, and I hope that Christians will be sensitive to the challenges of raising and seeking to safeguard the financial future for a disabled son.

We also need to remember that mercy (not receiving the punishment we deserve), grace (receiving what we do not deserve), and forgiveness are also central to our faith, and they are not earned by good behaviour, nor withdrawn when someone falls short. As Paul reminds us in Romans 5:8, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” That does not remove the need for accountability or consequences in public life - resignation may still be the right outcome if trust cannot be restored - but it does mean we approach such situations with humility rather than condemnation.

For Angela Rayner, as for any of us, the question is not whether she is beyond forgiveness - she is not. The question is of her own integrity and (or) whether she can ever regain the trust necessary to serve in high office.

Truth and love call on us to work harder to understand the full story and not rush to judgment too quickly. Grace prompts us to pray for Ms Rayner and her family, because she, like us, is not sinless. But we can show grace while also holding her accountable to the high standards we expect from all our public leaders.

It is not just Ms Rayner and her family we need to pray for. Perhaps, as MPs return from their summer recess, now would be a good time to learn more about your local MP. What is their story? How can we encourage them to strive for the highest standards in public life and pray for them to be leaders who seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly before God.

CARE will be releasing a new Topic Guide on how Christians can engage with their MP in the next couple of weeks. Hard copies will be sent out to those who receive paper-copies of our Letters from Leadership, and further copies are available on request.