Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister and deputy leader of the Labour Party, almost quit her job because she felt the party’s promise to build 1.5 million homes was completely unrealistic. This was revealed in a new biography by Lord Ashcroft. According to the book, Tony Blair had to personally step in and persuade Rayner not to resign at the last minute.
Rayner reportedly believes that the housing promise was never achievable and should not have been made to voters in the first place. She was also upset after losing out on the use of Dorneywood, a grand 21-room mansion in Buckinghamshire traditionally used by deputy prime ministers. Instead, it was given to Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor. Tony Blair had allowed his deputy, John Prescott, to use Dorneywood when he was Prime Minister, but Keir Starmer followed a more recent Conservative tradition of offering it to the Chancellor instead.
Eventually, Rayner was given an apartment at Admiralty House on Whitehall, though at first there were suggestions of offering her a place in Northern Ireland, which she rejected.
The updated biography, titled *Red Flag*, states that Rayner felt she was set up to fail with the 1.5 million homes pledge, describing it as an impossible task. It was only after Tony Blair called her personally that she decided to stay, showing how much influence Blair still has within the Labour Party under Keir Starmer’s leadership.
A Labour source also warned that the housebuilding goal will likely fall apart because Britain simply doesn’t have enough bricks or water resources to support such a massive plan. One Labour MP said Rayner has known for a while that the goal was unrealistic, and now her team realizes that she might have been intentionally given an unachievable target to make her fail.
Meanwhile, former Labour MP Jonathan Ashworth brushed off the idea that Rayner would leave the Cabinet, joking that he would “eat his hat” if she did. He also praised Rayner, saying he’s a big fan and thinks she’s brilliant.
Someone close to Rayner denied the claims made in the book, saying she is proud to serve as Deputy Prime Minister and is committed to Labour’s plan to build the homes.
This isn’t the first time Rayner has clashed with Labour’s leadership. Back in 2021, after Keir Starmer removed her as chair of the Labour Party during a messy reshuffle, she was furious. She reportedly swore at him and stormed out of the meeting. At that time, there were talks that she might try to overthrow Starmer with the support of trade unions, but she decided not to move forward with it to avoid major internal chaos.
