Watch as GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope explains the ramifications for the Government after it was announced that Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner will resign.
“It is a huge blow to the Labour Party, they have essentially lost a conscience of the working class at the top of the Labour Government. It’s a disaster for Sir Keir Starmer and a disaster for them", he explained.
“She is very highly regarded by her opponents but I would argue, hoist by her own petard. She was highly critical of Conservatives over their own tax issues.
“This Government is in trouble.”
Ms Rayner's departure is extremely bad news for Labour, Christopher Hope said on GB News
|GB NEWS
Ms Rayner is not only stepping away from Government, she has also resigned as deputy leader of the party, a position to which she was elected by members.
Her departure comes ahead of the publication of a report into her tax affairs from the Prime Minister’s ethics adviser.
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Ms Rayner had been on the Labour frontbenches since 2015 and assumed her Government roles in July 2024, when the party won the general election.
Christopher said on the People’s Channel that Ms Rayner’s story is an “extraordinary one of success” after she left school as a pregnant 16-year-old before working her way up to become Deputy Prime Minister.
Christopher Hope gave the lowdown on GB News
|GB NEWS
He said we can expect a Cabinet reshuffle in the days to come as the Government desperately tries to restore order.
“We know the Prime Minister received the report this morning, which means he will have acted within hours”, Christopher said.
“We don’t know whether she was sacked or resigned.”
Asked about her future, he said: “It’s quite confusing. She’s elected as deputy leader, a job she held since Sir Keir Starmer became leader back in 2020.
Angela Rayner admits wrongdoing over tax affairs - WATCH
“It’s a huge fall from grace which will echo across politics. Nigel Farage saw her as the one figure in the Labour Party he feared the most.”
Ms Rayner referred herself for an ethics investigation on Wednesday after admitting she had not paid enough stamp duty on the purchase of an £800,000 pad in Hove.
She said she had initially been told that she was not liable for the second property surcharge as she had sold her stake in her Ashton-under-Lyne family home to a court-instructed trust established in 2020 to benefit her disabled son.
Ms Rayner admitted she had made a “mistake” after fresh legal advice from a “leading tax counsel” revealed that she was liable for the extra duty on her new Hove flat.