Reeves' housing affair has nothing on Mandelson
Starmer’s cabinet scandals fail to match New Labour for sheer spectacle
A senior Labour cabinet minister, close to the prime minister but mistrusted by party members, faces questions about their living arrangements. I am, of course, referring to Peter Mandelson, but such a description could easily be attributed to Angela Rayner, Rushanara Ali and now, Rachel Reeves.
The chancellor has admitted to breaking housing rules by unlawfully renting out her south London home without a licence while she and her family stay in Downing Street. Southwark Council is one of many local authorities to require private landlords to secure a “selective” licence in order to rent out property in particular areas.
In a letter to the prime minister, Reeves apologised for her error, saying she was “regrettably” unaware that a licence was required, and that as soon as it was brought to her attention, she “took immediate action”. It only gets dumber from here.
It later emerged that her estate agent, Harvey & Wheeler, had in fact offered to apply for the necessary licence — and promptly didn’t. George Martin, owner of the agency, said in a statement: “We have apologised to the owners for this oversight.” It transpires that the Reeves’ property manager had “suddenly resigned” on the Friday before the tenancy began the following Monday.
Having reviewed the email correspondence, the prime minister’s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, said last night that he “remains of the view that this was an unfortunate but inadvertent error” and found “no evidence of bad faith”. Keir Starmer himself has also given Reeves a pass.
If you want a piping hot and well-judged political take, Sky News’ Sam Coates is, as ever, your man. My hunch is that, loath as voters are to trust the excuses of politicians (let alone one about to raise their taxes having strenuously denied plans to do so), the British public need little convincing that some estate agents are, shall we say, occasionally prone to administrative errors.
Nonetheless, I think it would be a dereliction of this newsletter’s duty if we did not take the opportunity to return to the O.G. Mandelson resignation. Even more than a quarter of a century on, it remains a real marmalade dropper.
Here’s to you, Geoffrey Robinson
The Reeves affair diverges from Mandelson pretty instantaneously. While the chancellor inadvertently failed to obtain a selective licence (cost: £945), back in 1998, it transpired that the then trade and industry secretary had taken out a ‘secret’ loan of £373,000 from his ministerial colleague, Geoffrey Robinson. The arrangement had been struck in 1996, so adjusted for inflation, we are actually talking more than three-quarters of a million pounds in today’s money(!) And we’re only getting started.