Dear Cllr King,
Re: Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Rental Arrangements
It has been revealed in the Daily Mail that the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, a former resident in Southwark, has been renting her family home in Dulwich Wood since September last year, shortly after becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer. This was done despite her failing to secure the appropriate licence from Southwark Council – meaning the Chancellor has been breaking the law during this period.
As you will know, ignorance of the law is no defence. Licences to rent out properties are not unique to Southwark, and so the Chancellor’s failure to do so on the grounds that ‘she had not been made aware of the licensing requirement’ does not, in our view, hold up to scrutiny. She was, according to her own statements, aware of similar schemes elsewhere in the country, and information about the Southwark landlord licensing scheme could easily have been found online by the Chancellor or any competent estate agent acting on her behalf.
Let us be clear – the Chancellor of the Exchequer has been renting out her property for thousands of pounds a month for over a year, and every single pound of that money has been obtained illegally. This is a senior government official and a Member of Parliament. This is unacceptable.
In light of this, and despite the Chancellor subsequently applying for a license, it is clear that enforcement action must be taken. It does not take much research to find far less egregious examples where enforcement action has been taken, and it would be totally unacceptable for someone who holds the privilege of elected office to be let off when others who make less serious mistakes are not.
We therefore request clarity with regard to the questions below:
Will Southwark Council be taking enforcement action, in light of the admission that the Chancellor has been illegally renting her property for over a year?
Will the Chancellor’s application for a licence be expedited?
- Will she be allowed to continue illegally renting the property for the duration of the application process?
We look forward to your response.
Best wishes,
Lewis Jones, Guy Matthews, Tristan Honeyborne, Clive Rates
Conservative candidates for Dulwich Wood and Dulwich Village Wards
