𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

If there’s one thing that enrages me about politicians, it’s those who forget who put them there in the first place. It should perhaps come as no surprise that Angela Rayner – perhaps one of the most hypocritical politicians of modern times – has done precisely that with her latest move.

The deputy PM has been accused of sleaze after it was reported by the Telegraph that she declared a swish seaside flat 200 miles away from her constituency as her main residence. And here’s the real kicker: it was reportedly to save on the taxes that her party is responsible for! You seriously couldn’t make it up.

It is absolutely baffling to me that someone would ask residents of an area to put their faith in you – only for you to ditch them and swan off to live somewhere else, even if it is part-time. And in Angela Rayner’s case this isn’t just outside her constituency, which I suppose can be forgiven, but at the other end of the country.

Perhaps it’s all just one big misunderstanding and her Brighton bolthole is simply that – a holiday home away from the chaos her Government is currently inflicting on the rest of us?

That’s certainly what she seems to be implying although, conveniently, a legal order is stopping her from making any comment on the matter. She’s free to spend her money how she likes, of course. But if that is the case, then her residents really do deserve an explanation as soon as possible.

It’s something that I really can’t stand. If you are being paid handsomely to represent a community – as MPs are – then I think that the very least you can do is actually live there and spend as much time there as you can.

As a councillor it can be a little more tricky, given there’s only a limited amount of people who actually want to give it a go and quite often – if you live in a small council area – many of the wards will be experiencing similar issues.

But I’d go as far to say that if I was to move away from Nunthorpe, where I live and which I represent as a councillor, for whatever reason (after all, new jobs, school changes and general life does happen) I’d immediately be stepping down and triggering a by-election. That’s how strongly I feel about it.

The same logic holds true when MPs from any party are parachuted in from elsewhere in the country. It really gets my goat. They make all kinds of promises to move lock, stock and barrel before they are elected, but as soon as they’re sitting pretty at Westminster, they suddenly develop amnesia.

It’s mad. And I really can’t believe that she’s had the gall to do it. But given her other well-documented antics and flagrant hypocrisy, should we really be shocked? Since coming into office she’s said one thing and done another on almost too many occasions to count.

Who can forget how she butchered Boris Johnson for his donor-funded flat refurb to then parade about in designer togs gifted by, you guessed it, a wealthy donor? Wouldn’t you think that as well as having morals and integrity that our deputy PM could also, at the very least, demonstrate some political nous and know that the optics of moving away from your constituency – even as a tax workaround – ain’t gonna look great.

Or perhaps, looking at the current polling, her latest move is actually quite a savvy one, knowing that there’s more chance of seeing a unicorn than her rabble being re-elected. Is Ange prepping for a carefree life away from politics by the sea? I suppose we can only hope.