Rushanara Ali is breaching the terms of Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill before it has even come into force. The i Paper is having a meltdown over the fact that Labour’s homelessness minister allegedly evicting her tenants before listing her East London property again at a higher rate. Legal and a process known as ‘raising the rent’…
A spokesperson for Ali said: “Rushanara takes her responsibilities seriously and complied with all relevant legal requirements.” It has been briefed that tenants were offered a rolling contract and the property was only relisted after a buyer could not be found. Not an excuse that washes with Rayner’s legislation…
The issue is that Labour is restricting the rights of landlords with Rayner’s Renters’ Rights Bill. Ali would be caught out by its provisions:
Under the terms of the bill landlords are not allowed to raise rents more than once per year. They are tied to market rates and tenants can challenge hikes at the tribunal. Leaving Rushanara with no options…
Labour says ending private rental contract is “one of the leading causes of homelessness” and Ali said this year that the bill and its restrictive terms would “tackle the root cause of homelessness.” It‘s hypocritical for that reason…
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are set to meet face-to-face in the next week, with a second three-way meeting including Volodymyr Zelensky on the cards afterwards. Kremlin officials claim a venue has been decided and full details are to follow…
Zelensky had a phone call with Trump yesterday, and now says he believes Russia is “more inclined to a ceasefire”. Time will tell…
Newly promoted Tory frontbencher Neil O’Brien has had a video on families blocked on social media act under the Online Safety Act. This will keep happening…
O’Brien – Shadow Minister for Policy Renewal and Development – filmed a piece with Phoebe Arslanagić-Little who works with the Boom campaign to encourage people to have more kids. A baby featured in the video which is a common reason for blockage under the Online Safety Act. Blocking family values…
The video features such heretical observations as:
“Parents are more likely than those not raising children to be struggling financially and behind on their bills and mortgage payments. We are a country where increasingly it’s wealthy people who are having children and poorer people who just can’t afford to do so. And as I discovered when I was trying to access it, getting IVF on the NHS is a total postcode lottery.”
Opposition politicians are now frequently having their content blocked. There’s a name for that…
Badenoch has given a sprawling interview to the Today Programme’s Amol Rajan in which she discusses her upbringing and values. Giving a rambling interview like this in the middle of recess is one way to grab headlines…
She said “religion was everywhere” growing up but the 2008 story about Fritzl blew out her belief in God “like a candle.”
“I couldn’t stop reading this story. And I read her account, how she prayed every day to be rescued.“And I thought, I was praying for all sorts of stupid things and I was getting my prayers answered. I was praying to have good grades, my hair should grow longer, and I would pray for the bus to come on time so I wouldn’t miss something. It’s like, why were those prayers answered and not this woman’s prayers? And it just, it was like someone blew out a candle.”
Badenoch also explained why she said she “became working class” after working at McDonald’s: “That, for me, is what being working class is. It’s the lifestyle that you have. You have to work, to survive… it’s not about what your mummy and daddy did, it’s what you did.” Party conference coming up – big moment for the official opposition in its fight for survival…
It is safe to say the voting public have yet to be convinced by Starmer’s one-in-one-out deal on migrant returns. Numerous loopholes in the Treaty give the French and court-ready asylum seekers all the cards anyway…
Starmer’s post on Facebook announcing the deal said: “My message to people smuggling gangs: if you bring people here illegally, they will face return.” Only 1,400 Brits have liked the post – 6,200 people have reacted with laughter. They call that a ratio…
Chris Philp took to the Channel to attack the deal before getting into an argument on X with Home Office minister Angela Eagle about returns. Busy day…
Privately officials stress that the proportion of returns will have to go up significantly if the deal is to have the intended deterrent effect. All to play for…
The King of the North still has ambitions within the M25. Labour sources say Andy Burnham’s allies are exploring ways to bag their man a parliamentary seat at the next general election – and perhaps throw his hat in the ring for any leadership challenge that may arise, should a vacancy appear. Burnham’s third term as Mayor of Greater Manchester expires in May 2028, which is a convenient time to plot a return to Westminster the following year. Burnham himself is getting quite good at dodging the question, though he has previously claimed he is “not ruling out a return to Westminster at some point”…
Recent IPSOS polling shows Burnham (35%) beats Starmer (26%), Rayner (23%) and Streeting (19%) among the public on the question of who would be a good Labour leader. This will not have gone unnoticed up in Manchester. Within Westminster, Rayner is the name cropping up the most as the frontrunner to succeed Starmer, whenever that may be. Until recently, in both public and in private she has shot down any suggestion she’d fancy the top job – though Guido noticed her change of tune last month. The problem for Rayner, Streeting, or any other cabinet minister eyeing the prize is they’re contaminated by the unpopularity of the current government, and many have slim (or tiny) majorities which could be wiped out in 2029. Not a problem for The King of the North…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”