Political pundits have suggested Angela Rayner could lose her housing brief as she tries to secure funding for 1.5 million new homes with an alternative tax strategy.
The government set the housebuilding target for this Parliament, however the Housing Secretary’s leaked memo – reported by The Telegraph – reveals she has put forward eight proposed tax rises in a bid to convince the Chancellor to consider alternatives to planned spending cuts.
It has come out a few weeks before the spending review is announced, when department budgets for the next few years are allocated by the Treasury.
Speaking on At Sam and Anne’s podcast, Sky News’ Sam Coates said there was “deep concern” inside Angela Rayner’s department that they were going to be squeezed again.
In the spring statement, Rachel Reeves reduced the overall rate of growth of public spending to 1% - the consequence of which is that there will be less to go round, and the health service and defence will swallow up more, while areas such as councils and housing will get less, Coates claimed.
“I was told by a senior figure in her department that they will only meet the 1.5 million homes promise if they get a generous settlement in the spending review. Angela Rayner is facing the prospect of having too little cash to deliver one of the government’s flagship promises. So, she is telling Rachel Reeves in the context of this spending review ‘raise more money’.”
Many in the PRS have called for Labour to deliver on its promise to build the homes, as rents are likely to go down as supply eases and more people get on the housing ladder.
However, Politico’s Anne McElvoy said there were rumours around Whitehall that housing might be moved out of Angela Rayner’s remit in the next few months
Coates added that another memo suggested the government should strip out housing from her department. “It’s a massive brief - you can see the logic, but it would be such a downgrade for Angela Rayner.”
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