Oh Rachel....

[Rockets]

BBC News - Chancellor admits breaking housing rules by renting out home
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd04d0yxnrvo

 

One wonders if Southwark will go after her....;-)

[malumbu]

Oh give it a break.  We have an MP who makes racist comments, yet our media (and what seems like this Forum) that generally hate Labour (and loved Johnson) are just out looking for the dirt.

It's a move on, nothing to see here.  Particularly if she used a letting agency.

[vladi]

We are given to understand that she delegated the task of letting it out to an estate agent.  This suggests it's the agent who is responsible.

[David Peckham]

The Standard are reporting the rental home as being in East Dulwich. I hadn't realised she was that local.

 

"Rachel Reeves apologises for London rental rules breach as Tories demand her sacking | The Standard" https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/rachel-reeves-rental-rules-break-east-dulwich-family-home-southwark-council-b1255584.html

[Moonglum]

50 minutes ago, vladi said:

We are given to understand that she delegated the task of letting it out to an estate agent.  This suggests it's the agent who is responsible.

I'm not sure Southwark would be particularly sympathetic to that argument if it wasn't someone in government making it. Fundamentally it is her responsibility to check as a landlord, and just good common sense to check after what happened to Angela Rayner for her own sake

[first mate]

I view this as a bit of unnecessary political point scoring. I mean, it's not as if she has more important things on her mind. She should get a rap on the knuckles but resignation? I don't think so.

Quite how the Tories have the temerity to point fingers after the shambles and outright corruption that took place over Covid, I really don't know.

[Dulwichway]

https://youtube.com/shorts/K0OH5Xo-ZhA?si=MK7L

[ianr]

I'm not going to bother to even look at the page of a video clip if you don't give some explanation of what it's about and your reason for suggesting I view it.

[Dulwichway]

3 minutes ago, ianr said:

I'm not going to bother to even look at the page of a video clip if you don't give some explanation of what it's about

The title of this topic might be a clue! 🙄😆

[Rockets]

16 hours ago, malumbu said:

Oh give it a break.  We have an MP who makes racist comments, yet our media (and what seems like this Forum) that generally hate Labour (and loved Johnson) are just out looking for the dirt.

It's a move on, nothing to see here.  Particularly if she used a letting agency.

Not so fast @malumbu. This is not a nothing to see here moment (and for some of us on the forum it is local as her house is in Dulwich)- the BBC explain why, have a read: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgkvd3jg2no

Southwark's role in this will be key - did they alert her, will they fine her (as they have done with other private landlords), was it someone in Southwark who leaked it? This government came in on a ticket of integrity and this type of thing is very damaging to that message - especially in light of other similar issues Starmer's front-bench has had - it cannot be one rule for them and one rule for us.

@Dulwichway you know you're in political trouble when videos like that appear within hours of a story breaking.....and goes viral. 

[malumbu]

I understand that she also has numerous motoring offenses,  Oh wait a second that was someone else https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y4558r5gko]

Sadly a cross bencher so can't blame Starmer for this.

 

Here's a former Tory minister

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65696003

[Rockets]

Two wrongs don't make a right @malumbu and if you come in on a ticket to end the sleaze you'd better be whiter than white. 

I suspect a local Dulwich estate agent is preparing to be thrown under the bus.....given the "new evidence has come to light and being assessed by the PM and the independent adviser" news from the PM's spokesperson!

Shall we have a wager on which estate agent she went to? 😉 Anyone also want a wager on whether this story was leaked by someone in Southwark council?

[Sue]

Politicians, eh.

They must wonder why they bother trying to help other people by standing for election.

Well, the ones who don't go into politics to make money from backhanders and dodgy connections and rambling speeches about Peppa Pig.

But then mostly those ones don't get found out. They know they are doing wrong, so they take care to cover their tracks.

Edited 4 hours ago by Sue

[Jenijenjen]

52 minutes ago, Rockets said:

- it cannot be one rule for them and one rule for us.

It does though seem one rule for Tories and one rule for Labour

[Sue]

2 minutes ago, Jenijenjen said:

It does though seem one rule for Tories and one rule for Labour

Something to do with the press, perhaps?

[Friernlocal]

35 minutes ago, Rockets said:

Two wrongs don't make a right @malumbu and if you come in on a ticket to end the sleaze you'd better be whiter than white. 

I suspect a local Dulwich estate agent is preparing to be thrown under the bus.....given the "new evidence has come to light and being assessed by the PM and the independent adviser" news from the PM's spokesperson!

Shall we have a wager on which estate agent she went to? 😉 Anyone also want a wager on whether this story was leaked by someone in Southwark council?

Sky say they have been told it's Harvey and Wheeler. Apparently they offered to apply for the licence, but never did. There are confirmatory email that have been passed to No10 and the ethics committee.

[Jenijenjen]

Does this mean then that anybody who rents out their home in East Dulwich needs one of these licenses? And does everyone of these landlords have one?

[beansprout]

Harvey and Wheeler in Dulwich Village? Only one I know…

How can they offer to apply and never did? Surely; whether they are managing the property or not and with tech been so advanced I would have thought they would have been a couple of e mails sent as a reminder or, is it the Landlord’s responsibility to apply…

Rental Law/ Bill has just come  into force  - can’t remember if it was this week or last and have been to busy to read.. However, will as assume it is not individual councils but all councils. Came up on Which on line..

Good point Jen Jen Jen - sure some knowledgable person on here can throw more light than I.

Edited 3 hours ago by beansprout
Speeling

[first mate]

22 minutes ago, Friernlocal said:

Shall we have a wager on which estate agent she went to? 😉 Anyone also want a wager on whether this story was leaked by someone in Southwark council?

Now who might that be?

[Sephiroth]

Two wrongs might not make a right. But the two wrongs could at least be of equal value before we get too judgey 

 

paying an estate agent to deal with all of the admin on my to have the estate agent not point out all of the admin 

vs

Deliberately hacking into an MPs email. And boasting about it (Badenoch) 

 

as for throwing a local estate agent under the bus, when did local estate agents become the good guys?

 

doesn’t sound like estate agents are being thrown under a bus - they are fessing up. And Reeves doesn’t look to have done anything wrong 

yet people will still believe the worst anyway 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/oct/30/rachel-reeves-row-standards-adviser-looking-at-new-infomation?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Edited 3 hours ago by Sephiroth

[WomblingFree]

I'm utterly baffled as to why anybody thinks this is newsworthy, let alone worth a front page. The economy has barely grown for 20 years and the housing crisis has been worsening for a similar time period. Note to any journalists on the forum: maybe focus your headlines on important issues.

[Sephiroth]

Or another thing journalists could do if they wanted to is unearth how many reform or Tory MPs are landlords with similar or worse errors 

 

[Friernlocal]

1 hour ago, beansprout said:

Harvey and Wheeler in Dulwich Village? Only one I know…

How can they offer to apply and never did? Surely; whether they are managing the property or not and with tech been so advanced I would have thought they would have been a couple of e mails sent as a reminder or, is it the Landlord’s responsibility to apply…

Rental Law/ Bill has just come  into force  - can’t remember if it was this week or last and have been to busy to read.. However, will as assume it is not individual councils but all councils. Came up on Which on line..

Good point Jen Jen Jen - sure some knowledgable person on here can throw more light than I.

The Sky article says the manager has apologised. Apparently, according to the article the person who said they'd apply on Rachel and her husband behalf left and didn't hand the job on.

Here's the article https://news.sky.com/story/politics-latest-reeves-rent-mistake-labour-starmer-asylum-budget-tax-farage-reform-12593360?postid=10440668#liveblog-body

[alice]

2 hours ago, Jenijenjen said:

Does this mean then that anybody who rents out their home in East Dulwich needs one of these licenses? And does everyone of these landlords have one?

Some parts of Southwark are exempt from licenses.  Google says there’s 86,000+ private rented homes in Southwark. 

[ianr]

4 minutes ago, alice said:

Some parts of Southwark are exempt from licenses.  Google says there’s 86,000+ private rented homes in Southwark. 

Mr Google's good friend differs:

"AI Overview

"It is highly unlikely there are over 86,000 private rented homes in Southwark.

"According to the 2021 Census, 29% of Southwark's households were private renters. Considering the total number of households in Southwark was 134,800 in 2021, the actual figure is closer to 39,100."