A row over Angela Rayner‘s three homes is a ‘danger’ for Labour and risks pushing more voters towards Reform UK, a top polling expert has claimed.
The Deputy Prime Minister has been dubbed ‘Three Pads Rayner’ after it emerged she had shelled out £800,000 on a luxury flat in Hove, East Sussex.
Ms Rayner, who is also the Housing Secretary, already owns a large family property in her Greater Manchester constituency.
And the 45-year-old also has use of a grace-and-favour apartment in historic Admiralty House in Westminster.
Ms Rayner has been branded a hypocrite for buying the seaside apartment while her own department warns against the impact of second homes.
One of her ministers has 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.
Chris Hopkins, political research director of Savanta, warned there were ‘dangers’ for Labour amid the row.
He told The i Paper: ‘While this story feels like something only those in Westminster will likely pay any attention to, it does provide a few dangers for Labour.’
Angela Rayner has been dubbed ‘Three Pads Rayner’ after it emerged she had shelled out £800,000 on a luxury flat in Hove, East Sussex
The Deputy PM bought a three-bedroom flat in Hove in May, paying £800,000 with the help of a mortgage
Ms Rayner, who is also the Housing Secretary, has been spotted sipping wine on the beach in Hove
The polling expert added: ‘First is that it could reinforce the idea that Labour are just as bad as all other parties.
‘Following a summer of donations scandals last year after presenting a holier-than-thou elections campaign, something like this rearing its head is unlikely to help the party reverse its image.
‘Secondly, the fact it’s about Rayner herself, the party’s most ‘normal’ asset, could have negative implications.
‘If even Rayner is tarnished with the same brush as all politicians, Labour stands so little hope of differentiating itself from a public that continues to despise politicians, making insurgent parties such as Reform UK far less risky in the minds of voters.’
As Deputy PM, Ms Rayner has been granted rent-free use of an apartment in Admiralty House, meaning she could give up her rented flat in the capital.
She 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.
Allies of the Deputy PM 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.’
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’.
He has told MPs that his and Ms Rayner’s 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 Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned that second homes ‘can impact the availability and affordability’ of local properties.
Senior Tory Dame Priti Patel said: ‘One rule for this condescending hypocritical Labour minister, and a totally different set of rules for the hard-pressed taxpaying silent majority of Britain.’
