Genuine left-wing politicians are rarely allowed anywhere near power ever. They are a threat to the super wealthy and the puppeteers. This is just a historical fact. The rest is merely brainwashing by the international corporate media and the international establishment they serve. If left-wing politicians had been the norm, we would not have any super wealthy to preserve. We would not have the perpetual targeting of the vulnerable. We would not have a paedophile in the White House. We would not have the wealth of the planet siphoned off by a very small number of individuals. In fact, we would not have many of the things that destroy the fabric of humanity.
Now that we have got that straight, let us get back to the main point of this article. Another right-wing politician doing what right-wing politicians do. Swindling the rest of us.
Rushanara Ali’s swift and humiliating demise is a textbook example of the political crime known as do as I say, not as I do.
Labour’s Minister for Homelessness – for goodness’ sake – presiding over the eviction of tenants from her near-£1 million townhouse, only to hike the rent afterwards. If it were a plotline in The Thick of It, it would be deemed too on the nose.
The facts are damning. She’d spent years ‘railing’ against the exploitation of private renters, promising her government would “empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.” Yet in the real world, she was charging her four tenants £3,300 a month and, once they left, ramped it up to £4,000. A tidy 20% increase.
It is hard to think of a more egregious example of ministerial double standards. Downing Street clearly thought so too, hence the hasty resignation, no doubt ordered rather than volunteered.
“A Heavy Heart” – Really?
In her resignation letter to Sir Keir Starmer, Ms. Ali declared she was quitting “with a heavy heart.” Really? That heavy heart didn’t seem to trouble her when she was issuing eviction notices.
Bethnal Green and Stepney is not the sort of seat where Labour can afford this sort of embarrassment. Once held by George Galloway, it’s now a fragile prize with a majority of under 1,700. Last year’s election saw an independent second and the Greens third and Jeremy Corbyn’s new party will almost certainly contest it next time. Labour HQ will be feeling queasy.
When Politicians Preach and Then Get Caught
Ms. Ali is merely the latest entry in a long ledger of political careers wrecked not by what they did, but by being found out.
- Boris Johnson and Partygate (UK, 2020–2022) – The Prime Minister who told the public to stay home was photographed at wine-fuelled gatherings in Downing Street during lockdown. The real problem wasn’t the hypocrisy itself – it was the photos, the leaks, and the police fines.
- Matt Hancock (UK, 2021) – As Health Secretary, he presided over social distancing rules before being caught on CCTV kissing an aide in his office. The kiss was fatal to his political career – not because of the moral issue, but because it was recorded.
- Owen Paterson (UK, 2021) – Found guilty of lobbying on behalf of companies paying him hundreds of thousands of pounds. Many MPs had blurred the line between advice and advocacy, but Paterson’s paper trail was so blatant it forced Parliament’s hand.
- MPs’ Expenses Scandal (UK, 2009) – Decades of questionable claims – moat cleaning, duck houses, “second homes” that were barely lived in – came tumbling into the open thanks to leaked receipts. Jacqui Smith’s husband’s adult films were just the most memorable example.
- Chris Huhne (UK, 2012) – The Lib Dem minister who campaigned on integrity and clean politics resigned after lying about speeding points. The points weren’t the political end – the lie was.
Hypocrisy – An International Pastime
Britain doesn’t have a monopoly on this phenomenon.
- Richard Nixon and Watergate (US, 1972–1974) – The break-in itself was small beer. The cover-up, exposed by secret tapes, was the career-ender.
- Bill Clinton (US, 1998) – Not the first or last US president to have an affair, but the perjury over “that woman” was what triggered impeachment.
- Eliot Spitzer (US, 2008) – The New York governor who cracked down on prostitution was caught using an escort service. He resigned within days.
- François Fillon (France, 2017) – The French presidential hopeful who promised fiscal rectitude was undone by revelations he paid his wife and children for fictitious jobs at the taxpayer’s expense.
- Silvio Berlusconi (Italy, 1990s–2010s) – The media tycoon who championed “family values” was repeatedly mired in sex scandals, including underage prostitution. What finally weakened him wasn’t the behaviour itself, but the court cases and wiretaps making it public.
Why They Fall
The pattern is depressingly consistent:
- They set the moral bar high – for others.
- They behave in ways that breach their own standards.
- They get caught in a way that’s impossible to spin.
It’s not about the act itself; history is full of far worse political sins that never became public, or were buried in committee. The fatal ingredient is evidence in the public domain. Photographs, leaked emails, CCTV footage, handwritten notes on ministerial paper—these are the real political assassins.
Ms. Ali’s hypocrisy is particularly galling because of the cause she represented. Being Minister for Homelessness while evicting tenants and jacking up the rent is the political equivalent of being Environment Secretary and owning shares in an oil company or being Education Secretary while quietly sending your children to private school after campaigning against it.
But as history shows, she’s in crowded company. The public memory of hypocrisy is long and political forgiveness is in short supply once the receipts are out.
Because, as ever, it’s not the crime.
It’s the fact they got caught.
