UK homelessness minister resigns over claim she evicted tenants, hiked rent

The resignation is simply a stroke for the Labour government, which trails Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK enactment successful polls.

Britain’s curate for homelessness has resigned implicit allegations that she evicted tenants from a spot she owns and accrued rents by hundreds of pounds.

In her resignation missive to United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer connected Thursday, Rushanara Ali, a inferior curate successful the Ministry of Housing, said she had followed each the ineligible requirements “at each times” successful her dealings arsenic a landlord.

Ali, the subordinate of parliament for Bethnal Green and Stepney, evicted 4 tenants from her four-bedroom location successful eastbound London past twelvemonth arsenic the spot was being sold, British outlet The one Paper reported connected Wednesday.

The property, which had a monthly rent of 3,300 British pounds (about $4,433), was re-listed for rent and rented retired weeks aboriginal astatine 4,000 British pounds ($5,374) aft nary purchaser was found, the study added.

Ali, who has spoken retired antecedently against tenants being exploited by “unreasonable rent increases”, told the premier curate successful her resignation missive that she had taken her “responsibilities and duties seriously, and the facts show this”.

“However, it is wide that continuing successful my relation volition beryllium a distraction from the ambitious enactment of the government. I person truthful decided to resign from my Ministerial position,” she said.

She added that she was “proud to person contributed to the alteration this authorities has delivered successful the past year”.

“Working alongside the Deputy Prime Minister, we secured grounds concern successful societal and affordable housing, and astir a cardinal pounds of backing to alleviate homelessness and unsmooth sleeping,” she said.

The extremity of rental contracts is considered 1 of the starring causes of homelessness successful Britain, and Starmer’s authorities is presently preparing a Renters’ Rights Bill that volition extremity abbreviated announcement “no-fault” evictions by landlords and prohibition them from re-listing a spot for higher rent wrong six months aft eviction.

Ali is the 4th Labour curate to measurement down nether unit pursuing the exits of the transport minister, Louise Haigh; the anticorruption minister, Tulip Siddiq; and inferior wellness minister, Andrew Gwynne, for abstracted reasons.

The resignations correspond an embarrassing stroke for Starmer’s government, with his enactment trailing Nigel Farage’s right-wing populist Reform UK party successful sentiment polls conscionable implicit a twelvemonth aft Labour won a landslide predetermination victory.

A June survey by polling steadfast YouGov showed that Reform UK would triumph 271 of the 650 seats successful the House of Commons if an predetermination were held now, with the ruling Labour Party 2nd astatine 178 seats.

The absorption Conservative Party’s chairman, Kevin Hollinrake, has criticised Starmer for presiding “over a authorities of hypocrisy and self-service”.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies