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The homelessness minister has dramatically resigned after being accused of "staggering hypocrisy" over accusations she gave her tenants notice and then raised the rent at her east London townhouse by ￡700 a month.
Rushanara Ali had been facing mounting calls to quit after her tenants were reportedly told their fixed-term contract would not be renewed because the property was being put up for sale.
After leaving the property, the tenants discovered it had been put on the market again, but the monthly rent had increased from ￡3,300 to ￡4,000, according to reports first published by the i Paper.
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Rushanara Ali has resigned as homelessness minister(UK Parliament)
The Lib Dems said she had “fundamentally misunderstood” her role, which was to “tackle homelessness, not to increase it”, while the Tories accused Sir Keir of presiding over "a government of hypocrisy and self-service".
Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative party chairman, described the allegations about Ms Ali as a "classic case of 'do as I say, not as I do"'.
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“You can't simply say, well this current situation is not fit for purpose, we need to change it, and then not abide by those changes yourself," he told GB News.
Under the Renters' Rights Bill Ms Ali’s department is bringing through Parliament, landlords who evict tenants in order to sell their property would be banned from relisting it for rent for six months.
In a letter to the prime minister, Ms Ali – who is the Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Stepney – said that she was standing down and that remaining in the role would be "a distraction” from the government.
But she insisted she had "at all times" followed "all legal requirements", adding that she had taken her responsibilities "seriously".
In response, the PM thanked Ms Ali for her "diligent work" and told her it would have "a lasting impact".
Her resignation will be a blow to Keir Starmer, following a series of ministerial departures from his government. It comes just months after a Labour whip quit over the party’s welfare plans and the international development minister Anneliese Dodds resigned in protest at Sir Keir’s decision to slash the UK’s foreign aid budget.
Louise Haigh also quit as transport secretary after admitting she was convicted for making a false report to police over a mobile phone being stolen 10 years ago.
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The PM thanks Ali for her ‘diligent work’ in government(PA)
Tom Darling, from the Renters' Reform Coalition, said Ms Ali’s “position was completely untenable given she was going to be required to defend the government’s legislation outlawing practices she herself had recently engaged in.
“The government must get on now and end no-fault evictions urgently so that no more tenants are subject to the kind of behaviour Rushanara Ali engaged in”.
London Renters Union spokesperson Sian Smith said Ms Ali's actions were "indefensible" and a "clear conflict of interest" with the Bill in its final stages.
A Liberal Democrat spokesperson said: "Rushanara Ali fundamentally misunderstood her role. Her job was to tackle homelessness, not to increase it.
"At a time of widespread political disillusionment, her actions were staggeringly irresponsible and only added insult to injury after years of delay for renters' rights reform under the Conservatives.
"The prime minister must appoint a new homelessness minister swiftly who will take the need to end homelessness once and for all seriously."