Bridget Phillipson's family reportedly made a 900% profit on a council house, according to the Mail. The Education Secretary's mother bought a two-bedroomed council house in Washington, Tyne and Wear, for £9,600 in 2023, a 38% discount on the £15,490 market value. The property was sold in May 2023 for £99,950, yielding a 900% profit.
Labour's Right to Buy reforms
The news comes as the Labour Government plans to limit the rights of council tenants to buy their homes. The Social Housing Bill aims to protect social housing and boost homebuilding. Reforms include increasing the minimum tenancy needed to be eligible from three to 10 years, stopping repeat buyers, and reducing discounts to start at 5% and cap at 15%.
Accusations of hypocrisy
Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake told the Mail: “Labour have once again been caught red-handed displaying their spiteful class-war hypocrisy. They are gutting the very same right-to-buy scheme that Bridget Phillipson and Angela Rayner benefited from, pulling up the drawbridge after taking advantage themselves. As ever with Labour, it's one rule for them and another for everyone else.”
An ally of Ms Phillipson defended her, calling the attack “sheer snobbery, plain and simple” and stating that the Tories are “staring down the barrel of electoral oblivion and have nothing to offer this country but rancour and division.”
Background of the feud
Ms Phillipson was at the centre of a row with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch on Wednesday after Badenoch called her a “spiteful class warrior” during Prime Minister’s Questions. Badenoch said Ms Phillipson “taxed private schools to pay for more teachers but the number of teachers has gone down,” adding: “It turns out appointing a spiteful class warrior as Education Secretary was a disaster.”
Sources said the pair later exchanged further hostile words in the division lobby. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Mrs Badenoch said she would not apologise for her remarks. The row is the latest in a long-running feud. In an earlier interview with the Spectator, Badenoch compared Ms Phillipson’s imposition of VAT on private schools to the actions of a “Gestapo officer.”
On Wednesday, Ms Phillipson told LBC that Mrs Badenoch was “perpetually angry” and had been “getting worse every week.” She said: “If I was going to say something, it would probably be pretty foul-mouthed, so it’s best to rise above it, best to be the bigger person.”
Angela Rayner also benefited
Former housing secretary Angela Rayner also benefited from Right to Buy, purchasing her council house in Stockport and later selling it. She brought forward the new rules in 2024.
