You’d think with everything that has happened in British politics over the last few days, the Mail on Sunday wouldn’t be short for a decent front page story. Instead, they’ve chosen to have a pop at Angela Rayner – for selling her council house.
‘Desperate stuff’ – MoS story splits opinion
The Mail lashed out at Angela Rayner for ‘making £48,000 profit’ on the dwelling, branding her a ‘hypocrite’. However, Labour’s second-in-command is made of sterner stuff, and delivered a succinct rebuke to the page-one splash via her Twitter account.
“Being able to buy my council house back in 2007 was a proud moment for me. I worked hard, saved and bought it by the book. I’m not ashamed – but I am angry that the Tories have since put the dream of a secure home out of reach for so many others.”
“Those who live in a council house should have the opportunity to own their own home. Working people should be able to buy the social home they rented for a reasonable discount. I want others to have the opportunity that I had.” | Angela Rayner
Angela Rayner hits back over Mail front page
Some have already dismissed the story as a ‘hatchet job’. One Labour source has labelled the piece as a ‘smear’.
The big ‘gotcha’ of this article is that the Labour Deputy Leader used a scheme introduced by Margaret Thatcher to buy the property back in 2007 – and her party now wants to make changes to the long-standing policy.
Again, Rayner batted away the criticism, arguing that the market discount policy introduced in 2012 by the Tories is ‘unfair’. She also took aim at Lord Ashcroft, who wrote about this ‘issue’ in an upcoming book of his.
“We’ve said we’ll review the unfair additional market discounts of up to 60% the Tories introduced in 2012, long after I was able to exercise the right to buy (25%) under the old system. That’s not hypocrisy, it’s the right thing to do.”
“It’s clear that Lord Ashcroft and his friends not only take an unhealthy interest in my family – but want to kick down at people like me who graft hard in tough circumstances to get on in life. I won’t let them.” | Angela Rayner