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‘One rule for Labour, another rule for us – Rachel Reeves broke the law,’ says Patrick Christys

It’s one rule for Labour politicians and one rule for the rest of us. Chancellor Rachel Reeves broke the law. She was renting out a property without a rental licence.

She then misled the Prime Minister, the ethics adviser and the public when she said she didn’t realise she needed one. Well, that’s interesting because she actually posted on X just 11 days ago.

The Chancellor wrote: “I welcome Leeds City Council’s decision to expand their selective landlord licensing policy. This means private landlords in the area will be required by law to obtain a licence.”

Right, so you know what, that came out. Miraculously, she’s changed her story, hasn’t she? Now it’s the estate agent’s fault. For once, I’m on the side of the estate agents. So they said that they’d sort it, and then they didn’t.

Patrick Christys

Well, I’m sorry, but if that was you or me, I have a feeling that we’d suddenly find that the onus was still on us to make sure that it had been done.

For example, if you have an accountant and they come up with some, you know, clever tax scheme, it’s ultimately you who has to pay it, isn’t it? When it’s found that they messed it up – just ask Jimmy Carr.

But what punishment now? What punishment could Rachel Reeves face in the real world? What would we face? Right. Unlimited fines upon conviction in a magistrate’s court. The landlord may face an unlimited fight.

Civil penalties. Local authorities can impose a financial penalty of up to £30,000 per offence as an alternative to court prosecution.

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Rent repayment orders. Rachel Reeves could owe £38,000 to her tenants. They can ask for 12 months’ rent.

Banning orders. Landlords who commit serious offences, including operating without a licence, may face a banning order preventing them from running a rental property in the future.

This is my favourite, though. Inclusion on the rogue landlord database. Brilliant. Lovely stuff. Convicted landlords may be added to a national or local rogue landlord database.

By the way, the same council, Southwark Council, just prosecuted a man who broke the same law as Rachel Reeves.

So that’s happened. Do we think she’ll face any punishment? She won’t, will she? Because she’s a Labour chancellor and Labour, though, have spent the last few years calling for everyone to resign for everything. So has Keir Starmer.

He once said: “You cannot be a lawmaker and a lawbreaker. And it’s time to pack his bags.”

She’s a lawbreaker. Is she packing her bags anytime soon? But this is fine. He’ll back her, though. In fact, he has backed her.

This is just the latest time, though, that the law hasn’t applied to a Labour politician.

David Lammy went fishing without a rod licence. Don’t worry, it was an administrative error. It was an administrative error. He could have been fined two and a half grand.

Rachel Reeves speaking at the Regional Investment Summit

No punishment, but they’re all at it. The corruption minister had to go over allegations of corruption, which she denies.

The transport minister went over low-level insurance fraud.

A housing minister and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner had to go over a problem with her housing.

The US ambassador, Peter Mandelson, went because of his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

The Prime Minister claimed he knew nothing about that. Well, we all knew. We all knew. Everyone in this room knew we’ve had the China spy scandal, Lord Alli’s freebies, beer and korma-gate in Durham, the potential Covid rule breaches.

It’s relentless. I think this is the most crooked Government that we have ever had.

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LP Staff Writers

Writers at Lord’s Press come from a range of professional backgrounds, including history, diplomacy, heraldry, and public administration. Many publish anonymously or under initials—a practice that reflects the publication’s long-standing emphasis on discretion and editorial objectivity. While they bring expertise in European nobility, protocol, and archival research, their role is not to opine, but to document. Their focus remains on accuracy, historical integrity, and the preservation of events and individuals whose significance might otherwise go unrecorded.

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