Rayner likens housing target to her running a sub-five-hour marathon

Angela Rayner has compared meeting the target to build 1.5 million new homes like her “running the marathon in under five hours”.

Speaking on Radio 4’s Today Programme, she said: “I’m going to keep the 1.5 million target, but it is like me saying that I’m going to run the London Marathon in under five hours. That would be a real challenge for me, but I’ll do it.

“I’m straight-talking; 1.5 million homes is a difficult target. I made the target. But I’m going to keep the target and I’m not going to be defeated.”

Labour policy

The 1.5 million new homes target was first announced by Labour in 2023 and later included in the party’s 2024 General Election manifesto.

Angela went on to explain, “People have underestimated me all of my life and if you tell me that I can’t do something, I’ll go hell-bent on getting it done.”

With Andy Burnham as Britain’s Prime Minister, Rayner is back in her former role as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

It follows Rayner quitting Keir Starmer’s administration following her tearful admission that she failed to pay the correct Stamp Duty on a new flat.

Devasted Rayner

In the same interview on Radio 4, she was asked about what she had learnt from losing her job over her tax affairs.

She responded, “To triple check and get an expert tax lawyer on just about everything. That was a brutal lesson.

“People make mistakes. I am devastated that I couldn’t deliver on the things that I felt really mattered to my constituents.

People make mistakes. I am devastated that I couldn’t deliver on the things that I felt really mattered to my constituents.”

“I feel like I let my constituents down and I took that really badly because all I ever wanted to do was prove that someone from my background can do it… like the guys from Eton.

“I have worked really hard and drove the change through Government.

“HMRC exonerated me that I was trying to avoid tax. It was a complex niche area of tax.

“Time in Government is precious and it is a honour to serve. I’m coming back and have unfinished business. I will build those council houses we need.”

Rent controls

In a separate interview with the BBC, Rayner has said Prime Minister Andy Burnham is not looking at bringing in rent controls in England.

She told BBC Breakfast that changes made through the Renters’ Rights Act, which came into effect in May, were “already having a significant impact on the market”.