DEPUTY Labour leader Angela Rayner has denied being a hypocrite after it emerged she made thousands of pounds in profits from a housing policy developed by Margaret Thatcher that she previously criticised.
Rayner denied accusations of hypocrisy after the Mail on Sunday revealed that she had made £48,500 profit on her ex-council house under the right-to-buy scheme.
The shadow levelling up secretary insisted she was not “ashamed” of the profits she made under the policy she had previously criticised for giving some tenants “loads and loads of discount”.
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Rayner bought her own former council house in Stockport, Greater Manchester, for a 25% discount in 2007. She would then sell it at the market rate eight years later, making a substantial profit.
The revelations are due to be published in Lord Ashcroft’s biography of Rayner, titled Red Queen, after she promised to review discounts brought in by the Tory-LibDem coalition in 2012, as well as a review to stop newly-built social homes being sold off.
Mark Jenkinson, Tory MP, posted the article on Twitter/X and decried Rayner as a “massive hypocrite”.
The deputy leader then took to social media herself to write a lengthy thread, and said selling the property was a “proud moment”.
“I worked hard, saved and bought it by the book,” she said. “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.
“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.”
She then went on to criticise the fact that council housing stock sold off through the right-to-buy scheme was not replaced.
Rayner added: “It’s helped fuel the housing crisis.
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“That’s why a Labour Government will deliver the biggest boost to affordable, social and council housing for a generation.
“I want others to have the opportunity for a secure home that I had.
“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.”
The right-to-buy scheme was introduced by Thatcher (below) as part of the Housing Act 1980, and allowed council tenants to buy their properties at a huge discount.
The system's rules meant councils could only keep a third of receipts from each sale to build replacement properties, with the rest of the money going to the council or government for other purposes.
Last year, Rayner promised a review of the policy to ensure it did not impact on affordable housing.
"If someone's lived in their property for a long time, they've been paying rent and it's their home, then, yes, right-to-buy it," she said.
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"But that right isn't that you get loads, loads of discount and we can't replace the stock."
The right-to-buy scheme ended for council and housing association tenants in Scotland on 31 July 2016.
The ban was introduced to stop the sale of 15,000 homes over a decade and protect the existing social housing stock.
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