The Deputy Prime Minister hit back at Anderson's dig
Angela Rayner offered an effortless response to a desperate attempt by Lee Anderson at making a ‘quip’ about Rayner’s background living in council housing, during an exchange in Parliament.
The Deputy Prime Minister unveiled Labour’s pledge to build 1.5m new homes by 2029 this week, with an overhaul of England’s planning rules as Labour promised a “council house revolution” under the new targets.
Reform MP Lee Anderson took an opportunity in Parliament to question the deputy PM on the policy, while also attempting to have a dig at Rayner’s housing history.
“I welcome the news of a council house revolution”, said Anderson. “And we all know that the deputy Prime Minister is a little bit of an expert when it comes to council housing.”
“But can she confirm that priority will be given to British families, veterans and pensioners?”
The official website for the Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne notes that she was brought up on a council estate, left school at 16 with no qualifications and a baby on the way. Rayner was also embroiled in a row earlier this year regarding her living arrangements ten years ago over whether she paid the right amount of tax on her council property. She was not found to have committed a criminal office.
Angela Rayner was quick to offer an effortless response to the former Tory, turned Reform MP’s remark.
“We have confirmed that people with a local connection will get priority in those homes,” replied Rayner.
She continued: “But I also say to the right honourable gentleman, who tries to make a quip about the fact I grew up in a council house, is that, the situation I hear and when I took on this brief, is that actually people used to talk about my childhood as if I grew up in poverty. But there’s many kids today that, if they got a council house it would be considered they’d won the lottery.
“Those children today can’t have that. So we will build the homes, we will prioritise the people locally to get them and we will make sure that first time buyers get first dibs as well.”
She added: “There are a number of measures that we’re putting in place to make sure the homes that are built are for the people that need it.”
Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward
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