Angela’s very jolly summer by the sea… Dining at Chippy Chips, visits to a spa by the nudist beach, doing up her new apartment in a Hove mansion block: PAUL BRACCHI

For the past week, following her much-publicised appearance on the beach in Hove – wrapped in a £175 pink camo Dryrobe, sipping a glass of chilled wine on the pebbles and vaping in a kayak – Angela Rayner has kept an unusually low profile.

Had she retreated to her constituency home in Greater Manchester or taken refuge perhaps at her grace-and-favour flat in Whitehall to escape the fallout from her purchase of an £800,000 seaside apartment on the Sussex coast?

The new flat led to allegations that she ‘dodged’ thousands of pounds in stamp duty in the process – resulting in her being labelled ‘Three Pads Rayner’.

In fact, she was holed up in her newest posh residence which occupies 1,300 sq ft (bigger than the average British home) of the first floor of a grand Victorian mansion block on Hove Esplanade, where a workman was spotted measuring up for what could be new blinds or French doors.

The flat was bought earlier in the year, around May, it is believed, with a recently reported six-figure mortgage. 

Unsurprisingly, she has spent time here over the summer.

Ms Rayner, 45, is more than entitled to take a break from her stress-filled role as a Cabinet minister, but MPs who inevitably have less time for constituency work during ‘term-time’ normally take the opportunity to catch up with their bread-and-butter duties during the parliamentary recess.

However, constituents in the vicinity of her home 260 miles away in Ashton-under-Lyne – which she shares with her ex-husband, union official Mark Rayner, and which is the home of her two teenage sons – have seen little of her, in contrast to residents in Hove who have seen a lot of her. Draw your own conclusions.

For the past week, following her much-publicised appearance on the beach in Hove – wrapped in a £175 pink camo Dryrobe, sipping a glass of chilled wine on the pebbles (pictured) and vaping in a kayak – Angela Rayner has kept an unusually low profile

Had she retreated to her constituency home in Greater Manchester or taken refuge perhaps at her grace-and-favour flat in Whitehall to escape the fallout from her purchase of an £800,000 seaside apartment on the Sussex coast (pictured)?

The new flat in Hove (pictured in a file photo) led to allegations that she ‘dodged’ thousands of pounds in stamp duty in the process – resulting in her being labelled ‘Three Pads Rayner’

Ms Rayner has been on the beach, in the sea, at an outdoor sauna on the seafront, has eaten at a well-known Italian restaurant, enjoyed pub lunches, visited the local chippie, shopped in The Lanes (the historic shopping quarter) and attended Pride events.

Fittingly, she has a collection of glitter shoes from one of her favourite shops in neighbouring Brighton called Irregular Choice. The retailer specialises in garish footwear with names like Dazzle Razzle, Starbright Streamer and Blooming Bouquet, which look exactly like their names suggest. Ms Rayner is a long-standing customer.

Often she has been in the company of her on-off boyfriend Sam Tarry, the former MP for Ilford South who was part of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership team.

Under different circumstances, no one would give a damn about her new apartment.

Her story – reaching the Cabinet after being raised on a Stockport council estate, leaving school with no qualifications, being pregnant at 16 and a grandmother at 37 – is admirable in many ways.

But for someone who wears her socialist heart on her sleeve, as well as on her right leg (just above her ankle to be precise, where she has a tattoo of Labour’s red rose), isn’t it a bit rich to acquire a holiday home costing the thick end of £1million, her third property if you include her grace-and-favour accommodation in Admiralty House? 

After all, her political reputation is built on being ‘normal’ – she likes to be called ‘Ange’ – and, to quote one supporter, ‘she speaks the language of ordinary voters and understands them the way the metropolitan elite around Starmer don’t’.

She is also Secretary of State for Housing. In that role, she is an enthusiastic advocate of allowing town halls to double council tax on second properties in affluent areas such as Hove – a policy inherited, admittedly, from the Tories, which came into force this year. 

Constituents in the vicinity of her home 260 miles away in Ashton-under-Lyne (pictured) – which she shares with her ex-husband, union official Mark Rayner – have seen little of her, in contrast to residents in Hove who have seen a lot of her

It has added to the charge of hypocrisy because further measures making life miserable for homeowners could well be unveiled in the Autumn Budget.

What has gone unreported in the current imbroglio is that Brighton and Hove has a homelessness crisis. 

On a single night in March, 138 rough sleepers were recorded on the streets – among the highest in the country – when the national average for the month was 27. 

Even some Left-wing commentators admit this makes Ms Rayner’s personal situation look more than a little incongruous and out of touch.

Her apartment was bought through Mishons Estate Agents and presented, according to the marketing blurb, ‘a rare opportunity to own a piece of coastal paradise in one of Hove’s most desirable locations which combines timeless elegance with modern living’. 

The photographs and accompanying floor plan provide an intriguing peep behind the curtains. 

The apartment has three double bedrooms, two bathrooms (one en-suite), a high-ceilinged living room with period features including an original fireplace, additional reception room, expansive terrace (‘perfect for al fresco dining’) and ‘breathtaking views of the sea’.

Her £159,584 salary as Deputy PM would have enabled her to get a substantial mortgage; even so, it is a huge outlay considering the £650,00 former marital home, bought for £370,000 back in 2016, has never been sold.

For someone who wears her socialist heart on her sleeve, isn’t it a bit rich to acquire a holiday home costing the thick end of £1million, her third property if you include her grace-and-favour accommodation in Admiralty House (pictured)?

It was, until recently at least, in the name of both her and her former husband, who remain ‘best friends’ after separating in 2020.

But it’s understood that, following the split, ownership arrangements on the Ashton-under-Lyne property changed and she no longer has a stake in it.

They owned the house with a trust corporation. There are various reasons why people u
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