Rayner defends herself after selling council house for profit

Published

9 months ago

February 25, 2024

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Labour’s Angela Rayner has rejected accusations of hypocrisy after she personally benefitted from a housing policy developed by Margaret Thatcher that she has since criticised.

The party’s deputy leader and shadow levelling up secretary insisted she was not “ashamed” to have bought her council house at a discounted rate in 2007 under the late former prime minister’s right-to-buy scheme – despite wanting to review it if her party gets into power at the next election.

The Labour frontbencher issued the response after the Mail on Sunday revealed she had made a £48,500 profit on her ex-council house under right-to-buy, which she has previously criticised for giving some tenants “loads and loads of discount”.

The newspaper reported Ms Rayner bought her own former council house in Stockport, Greater Manchester, with a 25% discount in 2007 and realised the increased return when she sold it at the market rate eight years later.

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The revelation about Ms Rayner’s house sale – due to be published in Lord Ashcroft’s biography of the Labour deputy leader, Red Queen – comes after she promised to review the high discounts introduced by the coalition government in 2012, as well as a review to stop newly-built social homes from being sold off.

Tory MP Mark Jenkinson posted a link of the article on X, formerly known as Twitter, and wrote: “So Angela Rayner is a massive hypocrite, who knew?”

But in her own post on the social media platform, Ms Rayner said being able to buy her council house in 2007 was a “proud moment for me”.

“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.”

She added: “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 brought in by Baroness Thatcher as part of the Housing Act of 1980 and allows council tenants to buy their properties at a big discount.

Under the system, councils can only keep a third of the receipts from each sale to build a replacement home, with the rest going to the council and government for other purposes.

Councils are also prevented from borrowing to make up the shortfall.

In 2012, David Cameron increased discounts offered by the right-to-buy scheme after they were reduced by Tony Blair’s Labour government in 1997.

Ms Rayner said Labour believed 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,” she added.

“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.

“But the problem with the right-to-buy was never ordinary people’s dreams of owning their own home – it was that council housing stock was sold off and then not replaced. It’s helped fuel the housing crisis.”

In an interview with i newspaper last year, in which she promised to review right-to-buy, Ms Rayner said while she believed council tenants should be able to purchase their homes through the policy, it should be reviewed to ensure it did not have a negative 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.

“But that right isn’t that you get loads, loads of discount and we can’t replace the stock.”

UK

‘We need help’: Workers say shoplifting is ‘out of control’ as brazen thefts explode

Published

5 hours ago

November 20, 2024

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'We need help': Workers say shoplifting is 'out of control' as brazen thefts explode

A woman casually walks into a convenience store and starts filling a bread crate with goods from one of the aisles.

A shop assistant tries to stop her, but she shrugs him off, undeterred. With the crate now full of items, she leaves without paying.

It is a scenario that is played out day in and day out across Britain, as retailers warn the surge in shoplifting is now “out of control”.

I’m sitting in the security office of a busy city centre shop and I’m watching as a schoolboy walks in and helps himself to a sandwich, stuffing it into his jacket.

Watching with me is shop worker Anton Mavroianu who positions himself by the main entrance waiting for the youngster to leave.

When the boy does leave, Anton demands the item back. Instead of being frozen with fear that he’s been caught, the boy laughs and walks off.

“All we can do is try to stop them,” Anton tells me. “But this is just another day for us.”

A few weeks earlier, when Anton tried to stop a shoplifter who had stolen from the store, the man pulled out a knife and tried to attack him.

This terrifying incident is an example of the very real threat posed to shop workers as they try to stem the tide of brazen thefts.

Shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales have risen to the highest level in 20 years.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) also reports that theft-related losses cost the retail sector millions each year, adding strain to an industry already grappling with post-pandemic recovery and economic uncertainty.

For small businesses, which lack the resources of larger chains, persistent theft can threaten their very survival.

Ricky Dougall owns a chain of convenience stores and says shoplifting cost his business around £100,000 last year.

“Shoplifting is a huge problem and it is what stops us from growing the business.

“People come in and help themselves like they own the place and when you call the police, most of the time, they don’t turn up.”

Mr Dougall says part of the problem is how this type of crime is classified.

Sentencing guidelines for thefts of under £200, so-called “low level shoplifting”, were relaxed in 2016. That is being blamed for the surge in cases.

An exclusive Sky News and Association of Convenience Stores survey shows that 80% of shopkeepers surveyed had an incident of retail crime in the past week.

The poll also found 94% of shopkeepers say that in their experience, shoplifting has got worse over the last year, with 83% not confident that the police will take action against the perpetrators of retail crime on their premises.

Paul Cheema from the Association of Convenience Stores says retailers are looking to Government to support them.

“I would say officials do not give a s*** about us retailers,” he tells me. “The losses are too big and I don’t think we can sustain that anymore.

“I would urge Keir Starmer to come and meet us and see up close the challenges that we are facing.”

Retailers have responded by investing heavily in security measures, from advanced surveillance systems to hiring more security staff.

But these investments come at a cost, often passed down to consumers through higher prices.

I get chatting to Matt Roberts, head of retail in the store I am in. He worries about shoplifting, but he worries about the staff more.

“I would imagine they dread coming to work because they’re always on tenterhooks wondering whether something is going to happen today, whether they are going to have to try and confront someone.

“It’s a horrible feeling. It’s out of control and we need help.”

The government has acknowledged the urgency of the issue. Home Secretary-led discussions with retail associations and law enforcement are underway to craft a comprehensive strategy.

In the King’s Speech, the government outlined details of a Crime and Policing Bill, which promised to “introduce stronger measures to tackle low level shoplifting”, as well as introducing a separate offence for assaulting a shop worker.

UK

Two-thirds of teens living with fear of violence, charity warns

Published

5 hours ago

November 20, 2024

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Two-thirds of teens living with fear of violence, charity warns

Children do not feel safe, a charity has warned, as a survey finds two-thirds of teens in England and Wales have a fear of violence.

The charity, which surveyed 10,000 children aged 13-17, found that 20% of teenagers have been victims of violence in the past 12 months.

“I think what shocked me most is how this is a problem that affects all of our children,” said Jon Yates, CEO of the Youth Endowment Fund.

“We found that two-thirds of all teenage children are afraid. And that fear is pretty real for a lot of them.”

He said it’s a fear so palpable that many teenage children are changing their patterns of behaviour, or have had it influence their daily decisions.

One third of teenage children – 33% – reported avoiding areas, whilst around 27% alter their travel routes or avoid public transport altogether to stay safe.

More worryingly, however, some say the fear of violence has led to mental health challenges, with 22% reporting difficulties sleeping, reduced appetite and concentrating in school.

Weapon carrying is also a concern for the charity, especially among vulnerable groups.

In England and Wales, 5% of all 13-17 year olds reported carrying a weapon in the past year, but that figure jumps to 21% for those suspended from school and 36% for children who have been excluded from school.

But Mr Yates said “shockingly” only 12% of children who repeatedly commit violence get any sort of support.

“That’s madness,” he said.

Jay*, 23, from Birmingham said depending on your environment, sometimes violence is hard to avoid.

“I’ve had friends be shot, I’ve got friends who have been stabbed, I had a friend die last month to be fair,” Jay told Sky News.

He said it is “damaging” because you never really get the opportunity to “heal”. He is now being supported by the charity Project Lifeline, but says before then it was difficult to find any hope.

“If you don’t have hope,” Jay added, “you can’t really get anywhere. It’s about finding that hope.”

Mark Rodney, CEO of Lifeline Project, mentors at-risk young children and said he has learned that “not only the perpetrator carries the knife, the victim sometimes carries the knife”.

“And not only the perpetrator does the killing,” he added. “The victim sometimes does the killing, because that’s where we’re at.”

He said far too many families ask themselves “is my child safe going to school or coming home from school?” and adds the government must “actually start addressing people’s concerns”.

The report also found that in 93% of cases where teenage children repeatedly harm others, adults intervene with punishments such as school discipline or police involvement.

However, only 12% of these children are offered support aimed at addressing the root causes of violence and preventing further harm.

Mr Yates said: “They go to school, they do something violent. They get excluded.”

He added: “We need to be much better at saying, ‘we’re not going to lose that child. We’re going to keep providing support to them. We’re going to keep providing a mentor’.

“Instead, we let them fall through the cracks”.

A government spokesperson said: “Halving knife crime in a decade is a clear mission this government has set out.

“It is vital to protect vulnerable young people who are too often the victims or perpetrators of this crime.”

*names have been changed