The resignation is a blow for the Labour government, which trails Nigel Farage\u2019s right-wing Reform UK party in polls.<\/p>\n
Britain\u2019s minister for homelessness has resigned over allegations that she evicted tenants from a property she owns and increased rents by hundreds of pounds.<\/p>\n
In her resignation letter to United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, Rushanara Ali, a junior minister in the Ministry of Housing, said she had followed all the legal requirements \u201cat all times\u201d in her dealings as a landlord.<\/p>\n
Ali, the member of parliament for Bethnal Green and Stepney, evicted four tenants from her four-bedroom house in east London last year as the property was being sold, British outlet The i Paper reported on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The property, which had a monthly rent of 3,300 British pounds (about $4,433), was re-listed for rent and rented out weeks later at 4,000 British pounds ($5,374) after no buyer was found, the report added.<\/p>\n
Ali, who has spoken out previously against tenants being exploited by \u201cunreasonable rent increases\u201d, told the prime minister in her resignation letter that she had taken her \u201cresponsibilities and duties seriously, and the facts demonstrate this\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, it is clear that continuing in my role will be a distraction from the ambitious work of the government. I have therefore decided to resign from my Ministerial position,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She added that she was \u201cproud to have contributed to the change this government has delivered in the past year\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking alongside the Deputy Prime Minister, we secured record investment in social and affordable housing, and nearly a billion pounds of funding to alleviate homelessness and rough sleeping,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The end of rental contracts is considered one of the leading causes of homelessness in Britain, and Starmer\u2019s government is currently preparing a Renters\u2019 Rights Bill that will end short notice \u201cno-fault\u201d evictions by landlords and ban them from re-listing a property for higher rent within six months after eviction.<\/p>\n
Ali is the fourth Labour minister to step down under pressure following the exits of the transport minister, Louise Haigh; the anticorruption minister, Tulip Siddiq; and junior health minister, Andrew Gwynne, for separate reasons.<\/p>\n