Angela Rayner, the Deputy Labour leader, has fiercely criticized the Tories’ housing policies and accused Rishi Sunak of being a ‘pint-sized loser.’ Rayner, who stood in for Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), targeted Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden for his support of Sunak’s bid to become Prime Minister.
In a heated exchange, Rayner said she had noted reports that Dowden had been urging Sunak to call a general election because he feared the party faced annihilation. She added, ‘Has he finally realized that when he stabbed Boris Johnson in the back to get his friend into Number 10, he was ditching their biggest vote winner for a pint-sized loser?’
Rayner also accused the Tories of being ‘obsessed’ with her personal life, referring to a row over the sale of her house in 2015. She stated that ‘After 14 years, they’ve failed renters, leaseholders, and mortgage-holders.’
She continued, ‘Instead of obsessing over my house, when will he get a grip and show the same obsession with ending no-fault evictions?’ Rayner warned that over 16,000 families across the UK faced losing their homes due to Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget.
Dowden, who stood in for Sunak at PMQs as the Prime Minister was in Berlin to announce defense spending, responded to Rayner’s attacks. He defended the Renters Reform Bill, which will return to the Commons on Wednesday afternoon, saying: ‘The right honorable lady is talking about legislation introduced by this Government which the party opposite totally failed to introduce in their entire time in office.’
Housing Secretary Michael Gove has abandoned his promise to ban no-fault evictions for renters before the general election. Gove now only ‘hopes’ the legislation will become law before Britain heads to the polls. No-fault evictions, also known as Section 21 notices, allow landlords to evict tenants without reason, and charities blame them for the rise in homelessness.
