Angela Rayner has been branded a hypocrite for buying a seaside apartment as her own department warns against the impact of second homes.
Labour’s Housing Secretary has been dubbed ‘Three Pads Rayner’ after it emerged that she had shelled out £800,000 on a luxury flat in Hove, East Sussex.
She is said by neighbours to have bought the ‘biggest and nicest flat’ in the Victorian terrace block, with sea views and celebrity neighbours, and has been spotted sipping wine on the beach as well as taking to the water in a kayak.
The 45-year-old Deputy Prime Minister already owns a large family property in her Greater Manchester constituency and has use of a grace-and-favour apartment in historic Admiralty House in Westminster.
Yet one of her junior ministers has repeatedly hit out at the damage caused by the wealthy buying up boltholes for themselves or to rent out in popular areas, pricing locals out of the market.
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has spoken in Parliament about the ‘negative impacts of excessive concentrations of short-term lets and second homes’, which affect ‘local services’ as well as ‘the availability and affordability of homes for local residents to buy and rent’.
And he has told MPs that the housing department – which has already given town halls the power to double council tax on second homes – wants to ‘give local communities more power to tackle some of those problems’.
Ms Rayner herself has declared that Britain is in ‘the middle of the most acute housing crisis in living memory’, while Sir Keir Starmer has warned that second homes ‘can impact the availability and affordability’ of local properties.
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice blasted: ‘Rayner is the Everest of hypocrisy. She laments a housing shortage, wants to soak the rich, whilst selfishly building her own property mountain.’
Senior Tory Dame Priti Patel added: ‘One rule for this condescending hypocritical Labour minister, and a totally different set of rules for the hard-pressed taxpaying silent majority of Britain.’
The Conservatives – who have been asking Ms Rayner for months which of her first two properties was designated as her primary residence for council tax purposes – said she still had questions to answer.
They asked if she had saved money on her council tax bills by changing her primary residence over the past year, and if she had ever claimed a single-person discount on her taxpayer-funded property.
Tory housing spokesman James Cleverly said: ‘Until she gives full and consistent answers, the public will be left wondering what exactly she has been trying to hide.
‘If Labour want to tax family homes more than ever, the very least the public deserve is transparency from the minister in charge. Right now, it looks like one rule for Angela Rayner, and another for everyone else.’
A Labour MP also faced questions about whether it was a ‘good look’ for self-avowed socialist Ms Rayner to have the use of three properties when many are struggling to get on the housing ladder.
Backbencher Catherine Atkinson told GB News: ‘Certainly, when it comes to national policy, what’s important is that we are building the 1.5 million homes that this country needs and that this Government is taking clear steps to do.
‘I’m not really sure that Angela Rayner’s housing situation is particularly relevant to that.’
The row over Ms Rayner’s holiday home is not the first time she has faced hypocrisy accusations over her living arrangements.
Last year The Mail on Sunday revealed she had made a £48,500 profit when she sold her ex-council house, having bought it using the right-to-buy policy she is now introducing restrictions on.
As Deputy Prime Minister, the mother-of-three was granted rent-free use of an apartment in Admiralty House, meaning she could give up her rented flat in the capital.
Ms Rayner also still owns a house in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency, which she bought for £375,000 in 2016 but which is now valued at £650,000.
Ms Rayner bought the three-bedroom flat in Hove in May, paying £800,000 with the help of a mortgage.
Neighbours have spotted her strolling around the area – where DJ Fatboy Slim and Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour live – with on-off boyfriend Sam Tarry.
Beachgoer Graham Brinklow said: ‘Makes me laugh, all these Lefties with their second homes. No, it doesn’t make me laugh, it actually makes me angry.
‘My three grandchildren have all got good jobs but none can get on the property ladder.’
Allies of Ms Rayner defended her decision to buy the seaside apartment. Sources close to her claimed she needed it to use as a base while working in London.
A Labour spokesman said: ‘We are not in the business of restricting people’s ability to own property, but we’re clear that rights come with responsibilities.’
