Hearts & Minds: Three houses, double standards, and a singularly british scandal

Yet again, a senior politician has been brought low by scandal. In Angela Rayner’s case, what has done for her is hypocrisy. She said one thing and was seen to have done the other. In 2023, in her ascent, Rayner said of the then Tory party chairman: ‘Nadhim Zahawi’s story about his tax affairs doesn’t add up. After months of denials, the truth emerges. His position is untenable. Rishi Sunak must dismiss him from his Cabinet.’ Soon after, Zahawi was sacked.

Cut to today and what began as the publication of an unflattering picture of Rayner relaxing, sitting in a kayak and vaping, quickly metastasised. The wider media and social media pick-up prompted questions about her lifestyle. It was discovered that she recently bought a flat in Hove, to add to her grace and favour apartment in Westminster and the constituency house. She was also the housing minister and here she was, seemingly in possession of three properties. Labour had been severely critical of people with more than one home. The deputy prime minister was accused of applying double-standards.

Rayner, though, could possibly have ridden out that initial onslaught but then it spread. Enquiries were made about the stamp duty she paid on the new purchase and the narrative ran away from her - every detail merely serving to fuel the case against.

Rayner’s response was consistent but not persuasive. Her tone was wrong, mixing defiance and correction. There was too much legalistic explanation which gave rise to claims of obfuscation. She was presenting the technical case while failing to counter the mounting perception. When she did address the latter, Rayner sounded too indignant which made her seem as if she was playing the victim. Another photo, of her wearing oversized sunglasses stepping out of a car, invited more ridicule.

Once a story starts to harden into a campaign, the battle is less about facts and more about frames and appearance. She failed to see where it could lead. Her reaction was slow, her language was unclear. A usual street-fighting instinct for knowing how her opponents would likely react deserted her. She was on the back foot, attempting to counter blows as they landed. Her messaging lacked clarity and simplicity; she was not transparent and open. The suspicion of dishonesty was allowed to gain ground. As a case study in comms rise and fall, Rayner’s takes some beating.

Chris Blackhurst is one of the UK’s foremost business journalists. He was previously Editor of The Independent and City Editor of the Evening Standard.