The exchange of letters between Angela Rayner and Sir Keir Starmer closes one chapter and opens another. Ms Rayner accepted the verdict of the ministerial watchdog that she breached cabinet rules by failing to pay the higher rate of stamp duty on her Hove flat. Sir Keir replied with sadness that he was losing not just his deputy and housing secretary, but an emblem of social mobility. There is no rancour, only mutual recognition: Ms Rayner accepts she must go; Sir Keir concedes she remains a potent force. Her achievements went beyond policy; she spoke to voters in ways that few colleagues could. Her story had a talismanic quality – from teenage mum on a Stockport estate to trade unionist to deputy prime minister. She embodied the promise of Labour’s politics in a manner no one else could match. Yet error need not be terminal. If a minister takes the hit early and with contrition, they........

© The Guardian