Tory peer Lord Ashcroft has claimed Angela Rayner threatened to quit over Labour’s ‘impossible’ 1.5 million homes target and was persuaded to stay by Sir Tony Blair.
The claims, made in the updated edition of Sir Kier Starmer’s biography Red Flag, authored by Lord Ashcroft, have been denied by the deputy prime minister.
In the updated version of the book, Lord Ashcroft described Rayner as ‘prone to stirring up trouble’. He continued:
“[On] one occasion she threatened to resign because she felt she’d been set the impossible target of Labour building 1.5 million new homes. It took a call from Tony Blair to talk her down – which, incidentally, tells you how important Blair is to the Starmer project.”
A source attributed to the deputy PM reportedly told the Daily Mail:
“We do not recognise the claims made. Angela is proud to be serving as deputy prime minister in Keir’s cabinet and delivering on Labour’s crystal clear commitment to build 1.5 million homes as part of our Plan for Change.”
Rayner has repeatedly reiterated her commitment to the 1.5 million homes pledge. Earlier this week, the deputy PM announced planning and infrastructure reforms that would slash a year off infrastructure delivery in further support of the housing goal.
