Resignation poses a significant setback for the Labour government, currently trailing Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK party in polls.
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Britain’s minister for homelessness has stepped down amid allegations of evicting tenants from a property she owns and substantially increasing rents.
In her resignation letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, Rushanara Ali, a junior minister in the Ministry of Housing, asserted that she adhered to all legal requirements in her capacity as a landlord.
Ali, the MP for Bethnal Green and Stepney, had last year evicted four tenants from her four-bedroom house in East London as the property was being sold, according to a report by The i Paper.
The monthly rent of the property, initially at 3,300 British pounds (about $4,433), was raised to 4,000 British pounds ($5,374) upon re-listing and subsequent renting out, following the failed attempt to find a buyer.
Ali, known for her previous condemnation of tenants’ exploitation by “unreasonable rent increases,” insisted in her letter to the prime minister that her “responsibilities and duties were taken seriously, as evidenced by the facts.” She further noted that staying on in her role would only serve as a distraction from the government’s ambitious agenda, thus deciding to step down from her ministerial position.
She expressed pride in her contributions to the government’s changes over the past year, particularly highlighting the record investment in social and affordable housing, and nearly a billion pounds in funding to combat homelessness and rough sleeping.
The termination of rental contracts ranks among the leading causes of homelessness in Britain. Starmer’s government is currently preparing a Renters’ Rights Bill to end short-notice “no-fault” evictions and prevent landlords from re-listing properties at higher rents within six months after eviction.
Ali’s resignation follows that of three other Labour ministers, including the transport minister, Louise Haigh; the anticorruption minister, Tulip Siddiq; and junior health minister, Andrew Gwynne, who all exited for different reasons.
These departures represent a significant embarrassment for Starmer’s government, with Labour trailing Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party in opinion polls just over a year after their landslide election victory.
A June survey by YouGov indicated that if an election were held now, Reform UK could win 271 out of 650 seats in the House of Commons, with Labour trailing at second place with 178 seats.
Kevin Hollinrake, the chairman of the opposition Conservative Party, has publicly criticized Starmer for overseeing “a government of hypocrisy and self-service.”
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/8/uk-homelessness-minister-resigns-over-claim-she-evicted-tenants-hiked-rent?traffic_source=rss
